The Devil And The Darkness
by Allenator05
Summary: Shane Akiyama is a shinigami, a Death God or Soul Reaper assigned to Squad 13.  His first mission is to observe Rukia Kuchiki on her first solo mission to the Real World.  Naturally, things don't go as planned and Shane is caught up in events completely out of his control.
1. How This Mess Began

**Author's Note:** This story follows the manga/anime Bleach. If you don't know anything about Bleach, I'd recommend checking it out. I try to explain as much as possible as far as terminology and stuff like that. This is pretty long, so bear with me. Here is the link to a Bleach Wiki if you have questions about anything:

wiki/Bleach_Wiki

Also, this story was originally published on the website Quizilla. There are a few characters in this story that do not belong to me. I had asked the author's permission to use them. Since Quizilla doesn't exist anymore, if any of those other authors are reading this I promise nothing changed.

 _Night. During the day, the Sun reigns supreme, but when he goes to bed, the Moon is ruler. Moon casts her pale light upon a sleeping world. Moon is Earth's night light when Earth is sleeping. Therefore, I believe Moon is the ultimate protector. Moon says, "I shall watch over you while you rest your weary body." I would think the Moon gets lonely being up when everyone else is resting peacefully. Moon has no one to keep her company except for the few animals that play at night. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to keep Moon company._

 _I find the night so peaceful. I believe that is the only time that Earth is completely still, at rest. With Moon watching all, Earth sleeps. I enjoy the solitude that comes with. I find it gives me time to think and let my mind wander as it will. During my time alone with Moon, I have been thinking of these strange times and the events that led up to them..._

"My apologies Captain, but you want me to do what?" he asked.

It was just after morning meal when the young Shinigami (Death God) was called to the captain's quarters. He sat kneeling before a middle-aged man with shoulder length white hair. The white haired man lay reclined on a pad on the floor.

"I have sent Rukia Kuchiki to the Living World for a short assignment. As a personal favor to me...and a certain someone, I want you to go and observe her," the white haired man explained.

"You don't think Kuchiki can handle things herself?" the young man asked. He sighed and cleaned his glasses on his robe.

"I have every confidence in my subordinate's abilities," the man explained. "As I said, this would be a personal favor. Your orders are to observe Rukia Kuchiki and make reports only to me about her progress."

The young Shinigami scowled and put his glasses back on. He then folded his arms and thought for a moment.

"With all due respect Captain, why did you pick me for this mission?" the young man asked.

"You came to me from the Secret Mobile Corps. The purpose of this mission is for you to observe without being noticed," the captain replied. "Didn't you used to have missions like this in the SMC?"

As the young man was about to ask another question, someone smacked him on the back of the head.

"Idiot! Why are you questioning the Captain?" a girl with short blonde hair shouted. "When the Captain gives you orders, you say 'Aye Captain! I will carry out your orders!'"

The young man rubbed his head and mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" the girl shouted.

"Third Seat Kiyone Kotetsu, I shall take your words and remember them always," the young man said loudly and rather unconvincingly.

"Make preparations to leave immediately. Rukia Kuchiki has already departed for her assignment," the white haired man said.

"Captain Ukitake, I am honored you have chosen me for this mission. I am to observe Rukia Kuchiki and report to you on her progress," the young man bowed, then stood and left. When he was gone, Captain Ukitake sighed and laid back. Before long, he was asleep.

The young Shinigami walked back to his room to prepare his things. He stopped in front of a mirror to regard his appearance. He ran his hand through his short brown hair and adjusted his glasses on his face. The young man locked stares with his reflection, noting every detail of his pale blue-green eyes. The young man smoothed out his shinigami uniform and adjusted his sash. He shook his head and finished getting ready.

As he was walking down the hallway, he noticed a familiar person walking toward him. "Good morning, Lieutenant Abarai," he said.

"Hm? Where are you going in such a hurry?" Lieutenant Abarai asked. The young man bowed and replied, "Captain Ukitake has given me orders to the Living World."

"The Living World, eh?" Lieutenant Abarai said. "Well, don't die and try to come back in one piece. I'd hate to have to drag your body back to Soul Society."

"Understood, Lieutentant Abarai. No dragging will be required," the young Shinigami replied. Lieutenant Abarai went on his way, and the young man ran on.

 _I still don't understand my orders,_ he thought. _I know I used to be with the Secret Mobile Corps., but still, isn't there someone else with a higher rank than me that Captain Ukitake can send? Now that I think about it, why was I transfered to Squad 13 of the 13 Court Guard Squads? Did I do something wrong? Is Captain Soifon mad at me? Why am I doing all this thinking? My head hurts..._

He walked though the portal and found himself in the real world.

For the next few days, he did exactly as he was asked. He remained hidden from Rukia Kuchiki and hid his sprit force output so even if he was seen, she wouldn't know he was a shinigami. He also wore his old SMC uniform which was a mask, tight fitting robe and pants, shin guards, gloves, and split toed sandals.

Watching Rukia, the young shinigami came to realize how good she really was. He remembered overhearing someone say Rukia was strong enough to be a ranked officer with the 13th squad, but she wasn't for some reason. He made regular reports back to Captain Ukitake, who was also impressed with Rukia's progress. "I shouldn't have worried," Captain Ukitake replied after a report.

"Would you like me to come back to Soul Society now?" the young shinigami asked.

"Not yet," was the reply. "Keep watching for just a few more days."

The next day, he was following Rukia when a hollow (human spirits that aren't sent to Soul Society before being corrupted) attacked a downtown area in the middle of the day. There was an explosion with people running scared. The young shinigami noticed a high school boy with bright orange hair running _toward_ the explosion, then turned around and ran away with a young girl's spirit.

 _That's strange,_ the shinigami thought. He made a note of it and continued watching. Rukia arrived and dispatched the hollow. The boy with orange hair was stunned. He said something to Rukia, but the young shinigami didn't catch it. Rukia disappeared and everything went back to normal.

That night, he watched Rukia patrol the city, looking for hollows. She arrived at a small building with a sign that said "Kurosaki Clinic" while he watched unnoticed from the other side of the street. She walked through the wall and into a room on the second floor. There was a loud _CRASH_ then the room light came on. The young shinigami heard arguing in the room, so he went to the window and peeked inside. He saw Rukia Kuchiki and the orange haired boy talking and arguing. _This is very strange,_ he thought. The orange haired boy put his hand on Rukia's head and said something to her. Whatever he had said clearly upset Rukia, so she made a wave of the hand and as if by magic, the orange haired boy's arms were pulled behind him and he fell on the floor.

"A binding spell," the young shinigami thought. Just then, Rukia pulled out her sword and struck a ghost on the head with the hilt. The ghost disappeared in a flash of light. "Soul Burial," he heard Rukia explain. Suddenly, he heard a voice that belonged to neither human, animal or shinigami. "A hollow?" he thought out loud. There was a loud _CRASH_ and the young shinigami jumped away from the window through the cloud of smoke. When the cloud cleared, he saw a Hollow and it was holding a young girl with dark hair.

From his vantage point, the young shinigami saw Rukia appear in the kitchen through the hole the hollow had made in the wall. He watched as the orange haired boy fell down the stairs and landed at Rukia's feet. He stood up, and when he saw what was happening, he started to groan and strain against the binding spell Rukia put on him. He heard Rukia frantically tell him to stop, but to her amazement, the boy broke the binding spell.

The young shinigami was also surprised. He made a note to put the incident in his next report. The boy grabbed a folding chair and foolishly ran at the hollow. The hollow simply batted him aside with its other hand. The hollow then tried to crush the boy, but Rukia cut its arm and it dropped the girl it had been holding. The boy rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground. The hollow then disappeared.

"Don't worry," Rukia said, "Your sister's weren't eaten by the hollow." Rukia stayed on guard and went on to explain the hollow was after souls with high spiritual power. That meant the hollow from earlier that day, and the one just now were after him. The hollow then reappeared. Enraged, the orange haired boy ran out into the street to face the monster.

"Hey!" Rukia called after him. _You fool,_ the young shinigami thought to himself.

The hollow lunged at the boy, and at the last second, Rukia jumped in front of the hollow. The hollow ended up biting Rukia on the left shoulder. Blood spattered on the pavement. The hollow reared back in pain and Rukia collapsed on the ground. The orange haired boy stared in shock. The young shinigami felt his anger rising against the stupid boy for getting Rukia hurt.

Rukia crawled to a telephone pole and sat up against it. "Do you want to save your family?" she asked.

"Of course!" the boy hastily agreed. "How do I do it?"

Rukia took a deep breath. "You must become a Shinigami (aka Death God)." the boy's eyes went wide. Rukia pointed her sword at him. "Thrust my Soul Slayer (what the shinigami's swords are called) through your heart and I will give you some of my power." Rukia took another breath. "I don't know if this will work."

 _Don't do it Rukia,_ the young shinigami pleaded. Rukia pointed the sword at the boy's chest. He grabbed the blade and thrust it through his heart.

"NO!" the young shinigami cried out. His voice was drowned out by a bright flash of light and howling wind. When the light and dust cleared, the hollow was missing an arm and Ichigo was wearing shinigami robes and was carrying a Soul Slayer as tall as he was. On his back was the sheath for the large sword. The young shinigami glanced back to Rukia who wearing her white under robe, which had blood on it. She looked stunned. The young shinigami guessed that Rukia had accidently given Ichigo _all_ her spirit power. He looked back as Ichigo defeated the hollow. Unnoticed by Ichigo, a man wearing a green and white stripped had and sandals appeared and spoke to Rukia. The man gave the young shinigami a funny feeling, so he jumped away, landing a few blocks over.

"Man oh man," the young shinigami thought, reaching for his phone. "What have you gotten yourself into, Rukia Kuchiki?" He dialed a number and listened to it ring. When he heard someone pick up the phone, he simply said, "We have a bit of a problem, Captain Ukitake."


	2. Getting Involved

"Okay students, quiet down please," the teacher said the next day. "It would seem we have a new student today." She motioned toward the door and the class watched the new student walk in the classroom. He was average height, had short brown hair and oval shaped glasses.

"Hello. My name is Shane Akiyama. I am a foreign exchange student from America," he explained. "I am living with a relative of mine while I attend school here. I hope that we be able to get along, and that I will learn from you, and perhaps you will learn from me."

"Yes, that's nice," the teacher said hurriedly. "Please find an open desk and sit down."

Shane scanned the classroom, taking note of all the faces. He saw an empty desk near the back of the classroom next to a girl with short, dark spiky hair. He walked down the isle.

"May I sit here?" he asked. The girl looked up and considered his words. "I don't care," she said finally.

Shane sat down and leaned over. "What's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Tatsuki Arisawa," she replied curtly.

While the teacher was droning on about some subject, Shane leaned over to Tatsuki again. "Is there some kind of martial arts club or something at this school?" he asked. Tatsuki shot him a look. "Why?" she asked.

"I was hoping to be able to work out a little while I was here," Shane explained. "Are you afraid I might beat you?"

"Hardly," Tatsuki growled. "Meet me after school and I'll show you," she said. The sharp tone in her voice suggested Shane had hit a nerve.

Later in the day during lunch, Ichigo arrived at class. Shane sat in the back of the class and watched as Ichigo came in and interacted with his classmates. He heard someone mention a truck had crashed into Ichigo's house, and that's why he was late. Shane merely smiled.

Just then, Shane heard a familiar voice. "Oh, so you are Kurosaki?" Shane glanced up and saw the back side of Rukia Kuchiki. Ichigo looked stunned to see her.

"My name is Rukia. I will be sitting next to you," she said. Shane could hear in her voice that Rukia was acting. He shook his head. Ichigo started to make a commotion and Rukia said something else to Ichigo. Ichigo dragged Rukia out of the classroom. Shane followed at a distance.

Rukia was still speaking in a cutesy voice, which was clearly upsetting Ichigo. "Quit talking like that!" he said. "Besides, I thought you went back to Soul Society or whatever."

"Idiot," Rukia retorted, speaking in her normal voice. "The only ones who can go there are Death Gods. Since you took my power, I've been forced to use this faux body."

"A what?" Ichigo asked.

"A faux body," Shane spoke up. Both Ichigo and Rukia quickly turned around. "Who are you?" Ichigo shouted.

"My name is Shane Akiyama. I'm a foreign exchange student from America," Shane explained.

"I don't care about that," Ichigo said. "How do you know about a faux body or whatever it's called."

"Because he's a shinigami also," Rukia explained.

"What?" Ichigo asked. His face had confusion written all over it. "But what about the faux body?"

"A faux body is a temporary body that has no soul. Shinigami use them in emergency situations when they have become extremely weakened to wait for their powers to recover," Shane explained.

"Okay, I got that," Ichigo said. He put his hands on his hips and asked, "But how do you know Rukia?"

"Rukia and I work together in Soul Society," Shane said simply. He looked to Rukia, who had been avoiding eye contact.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

Shane turned to Ichigo. "Could you give us a moment please?" Ichigo looked annoyed and walked away. Shane turned back to Rukia. "Captain Ukitake sent me to watch you," he said.

"Why would he do such a thing?" Rukia asked. "Doesn't he trust me?"

Shane shrugged. "I don't question orders, I just follow them. He said to think of it as a personal favor to himself and a certain someone, I don't know who." Rukia was lost in thought when Shane whispered in her ear, "I told him what happened last night."

Rukia's eyes went wide and she stared up at Shane. She took a step back and a look of betrayal crossed her face. "Captain Ukitake said he'd think of something to do," Shane assured her, "what are you going to do in the mean time?"

"Ichigo is going to do my work for me," Rukia sighed. "I'll help him, of course."

Shane put his hands on Rukia's shoulders. "What would you like me to do?" he asked.

"I would appreciate your help," Rukia replied. "Keep making regular reports to the captain, and keep me informed as well." Rukia looked to Ichigo, who was off in his own world. "I'm going to tell him what I plan to do. You should go back to the classroom and help me pretend nothing happened." Shane nodded and left.

After school, Shane followed Tatsuki to Martial Arts Club (or whatever it's called). Shane saw other students were either sparring, using dummies or practicing on their own. Off in one corner, mats were set up like a ring. Tatsuki introduced Shane to the teacher and Shane was given a uniform. He went to the locker room and changed. When he came out, he was wearing the white robe, pants and sash. Tatsuki was waiting.

"Put these on," she said and threw a headgear and gloves at Shane. He caught the headgear and didn't bother with the gloves.

"Let me warm up a bit first," he said. Tatsuki glared at him and went off to do her own warmups. Shane closed his eyes and performed some breathing exercises and stretched out. When he was satisfied, Shane walked through some of his moves. When he was ready, he approached Tatsuki.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Tatsuki gave Shane an evil grin. "Are _you_ ready for me?" she asked.

Shane stepped back and took a stance. "I promise you, I won't hold back," he warned.

Tatsuki also took a stance. "I won't go easy either," she said. She threw the first punch and Shane dodged, stepped into Tatsuki, and threw her. Tatsuki used the momentum and rolled to her feet. She was a little surprised, but flew at Shane, punching and kicking.

An hour later, they were both breathing heavy and sitting against a wall. "You're pretty good," Shane said. He took a drink of water and sighed. Tatsuki stared at him and said nothing.

 _Who is this guy?_ she thought. _He says he's from America, but where did he learn to fight like that? I've never fought against someone with that fighting style, and I've never seen anyone fight so effectively with few punches and kicks. For a moment there, I thought he was going to kill me._

"I don't quite recognize your fighting style," Tatsuki said finally. She took a drink from a water bottle and wiped her face with a towel.

Shane shrugged. "It's kinda something I came up with on my own," he explained. "I combined jujutsu and krav maga."

"What's krav maga?" Tatsuki asked.

"Krav maga was developed by the Israeli Special Forces. It inflicts maximum damage with minimal effort." Shane explained. "I try not to use it that often because it's easy to hurt my opponent."

"No kidding," Tatsuki agreed, rubbing her shoulder and ribs. She sat back and stared off into space.

Shane leaned over and looked her in the eye. "How long have you been doing this?" he asked.

Tatsuki looked at him. "Oh, since I was about four years old or so," she said. "When I was a little older, decided I wanted to become the female Vale Tudo champion someday."

"What's Vale Tudo?" Shane asked. Tatsuki's eyes went wide. "You mean you fight that good, and have never heard of Vale Tudo?" Shane shook his head.

Tatsuki smacked herself in the head. "Man oh man," she said. "Anyway, Vale Tudo is a big fighting tournament. People come from all over to compete or just to watch. It's very exiting, and I'm gonna win one day." Tatsuki made a fist and looked very determined.

"That's a pretty impressive goal," Shane said. He stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go change and go home, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Shane said. Tatsuki looked up at Shane and nodded. "Be prepared," she warned, "You won't be able to surprise me again." Shane grinned and ran off to the showers.

Tatsuki sat there, lost in thought. Then she stood up and prepared to leave.


	3. Shinigami Shenanigans

That night, Shane was out in shinigami form, but instead of his SMC uniform, he wore his regular Death God robes. He sat on top of a building and thought about his last phone call with Captain Ukitake. At first, when the captain didn't say anything, Shane was afraid he'd gotten himself into trouble. "Don't worry," the captain assured him, "Given the circumstances, I don't think you could have done anything else. Your orders are to continue assisting Rukia Kuchiki and report back to me." Shane thanked him and hung up the phone.

That's how Shane found himself sitting on top of a building in the middle of the night. Shane leaned back and stared at the moon.

"You look no different here than back in Soul Society," Shane said to the moon. He closed his eyes and basked in the quiet and solitude. Shane fell into a deep meditative state, loosing all sense of time and reality.

"Open your eyes," a friendly voice commanded.

Shane opened his eyes and found himself standing in a field of tall grass as far as he could see. Off in the distance were mountains with snow on them. A stiff breeze blew through the grass, creating a rippling effect. It seemed as if he was standing in an ocean of moving grass. There was hardly any light, causing everything to feel gray and slightly depressing. Shane looked up and he saw clouds moving quickly across the night sky. The full moon was the only thing giving off light. Shane took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"What are you doing?" the voice asked. The tone was neutral, but sounded slightly feminine.

"I was just thinking, that is all," Shane said. He sat down in the grass and lay back, staring up at the sky. The clouds cleared, showing the moon in all its glory.

"You haven't spoken to me in a long time," the voice said. "I was starting to worry that you couldn't hear my voice, that you had forgotten my name."

Shane closed his eyes. "I haven't forgotten your name," he said. Shane opened his eyes and whispered, "Tsukuyomi"

The wind picked up, blowing grass and dirt around. Shane felt himself being lifted and carried by the wind. When the wind died down, Shane found he was standing on top of a mountain. Across from him was a shadowy figure. Shane kneeled in the snow, and the figure did the same.

"So you do remember my name," the voice said. Shane nodded and bowed. "Why have you called me here?" he asked.

"You seem distracted. You have been ignoring me, and I feel lonely," the figure said. "Didn't you make me a promise once?"

Shane thought back. He remembered long ago, and the promise he had made. "Yes," he whispered. "I am ashamed," he added.

"Don't worry," the figure said. "I am not angry." The figure stood up and motioned for Shane to do the same. "I brought you here because when we talk, you do all the talking. Now, you will do the listening. Are you ashamed of me?"

Shane blinked. "No, of course not," he said.

The figure took a step toward Shane. "How long has it been since you've seen my face?" it asked.

"I don't know," Shane answered.

"Do you remember?" the figure asked.

"No, not really," Shane replied.

The figure took another step forward and the clouds broke, letting the moonlight shine through. The figure was revealed to be a person with dark hair and pale skin, wearing blue and silver ceremonial robes and an elaborate headdress. It was impossible to tell if the person was male or female.

Shane gasped. His eyes went wide and he felt deeply saddened. He had indeed forgotten.

"What is my name?" the person asked.

"Tsukuyomi," Shane replied. His face hardened with conviction.

"Remember my face well, so you know what I look like when you call my name," Tsukuyomi replied.

Shane bowed deeply. "I will never forget," he replied. Tsukuyomi nodded and Shane disappeared. After he was gone, Tsukuyomi looked up at the moon. "We are the same, Shane. I am a part of you, the embodiment of your spirit. To forget your soul, is to forget oneself. I am always with you," Tsukuyomi said.

Shane opened his eyes and saw he was back on the rooftop in the real world. He sighed deeply and stood up. Shane looked down and saw two swords in his sash, one on his right hip, the other on his left. He slowly drew both swords and stared at his reflection in the blades. This was his Soul Slayer, Tsukuyomi.

"It really has been a long time," Shane said to himself. Just then, he heard the scream of a Hollow. Shane quickly looked around and replaced his swords. He heard the scream again, so he took off in that direction, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Shane heard a loud crash and saw a cloud of dust. He took one last jump and landed in the street next to Rukia. Shane did a double take when he saw what she was wearing.

"What are you wearing?" he asked.

"Don't you see we are busy?" Rukia shouted. Ichigo was kneeling in the street, holding his head. He looked up and saw Shane standing over Rukia.

"Ahh!" Ichigo shouted, "What are you doing here?" Ichigo noticed Shane was wearing shinigami robes and had two swords in his sash. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"I told you, I'm a Death God," Shane said. He crossed his arms and scowled. "Why are you sitting there when you have work to do?"

Ichigo gave Shane a blank stare. "I have work? Don't you mean, _you_ have work? Since you're a shinigami, you take care of that Hollow!" Ichigo shouted.

Shane hit Ichigo on the head. "The Hollow was after you. _You_ take care of it. I'm just here in case things get out of hand." And with that, Shane jumped away.

Ichigo glared and mumbled some curses. "Are you hurt?" Rukia asked.

"I'm fine," Ichigo replied.

Shane stood atop a telephone pole across the street from the house. There was a large hole in the wall, so Shane looked inside. The Hollow was holding the girl who was wearing a purple blouse and a white skirt with orange flowers. Her very long orange tinted hair was held back with two hair clips. Shane guessed this girl was Orihime. He saw the other person laying on the floor against the wall, and realized it was Tatsuki. The hollow itself looked like a man from head to waist, but instead of legs, this hollow had a long black tail with large scales that showed the backbone of the hollow.

Orihime must have said something that upset the Hollow, because he grabbed her and started yelling and squeezing her. Orihime gasped for breath. Just then, Ichigo jumped through the hole and landed on the Hollow's tail. Ichigo was yelling and repeatedly stabbed the Hollow in the tail. The Hollow screamed in pain and dropped Orihime. The Hollow tried to grab Orihime again, but Ichigo jumped in front of him and cut his hand off. Ichigo and the Hollow exchanged words, then suddenly, the Hollow went crazy and bashed its face in the wall.

Shane jumped through the hole and kneeled next to Tatsuki and checked her pulse. It was still strong, but she was unconscious. The Hollow lunged at Ichigo with its mouth open, but Ichigo blocked it with his big sword and pushed the Hollow out the wall and into the street below. Ichigo jumped after him and Rukia and Orihime ran to the hole in the wall.

"Hurry and slay him!" Rukia shouted. Shane looked around the room and saw Orihime's body laying on the floor with a chain. Shane followed the chain with his eyes and saw it connected to Orihime, who was standing next to Rukia.

"The Hollow must have knocked Orihime's spirit out of her body," Shane thought out loud. "Since the chain isn't broken, Orihime isn't actually dead."

Just then, Orihime jumped out of the hole. Shane stood up and looked outside. The Hollow had tried to bite Ichigo, but Orihime had jumped in the way and the Hollow had bitten her in the shoulder instead. Orihime had her arms wrapped around the Hollow's head. Shane couldn't hear what was being said, but he guessed Orihime was saying something important.

Rukia turned to leave. "I'll stay here with the bodies," Shane said. Rukia nodded and ran out the door. Shane turned to check on Tatsuki and Orihime's body. Suddenly, Shane heard a terrible scream and he ran to the opening in the wall. The Hollow was thrashing around violently and screaming. Just then, the Hollow's mask broke, revealing the face of a young man. Shane turned around and saw a picture of the same man.

"That Hollow must be Orihime's brother," Shane thought. He looked outside and noticed Rukia was explaining things to Ichigo. The hollow picked up Ichigo's soul slayer.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ichigo asked in surprise.

"Please, let me do this while my mind is still clear," the Hollow said. "Let me disappear." He raised the sword to his neck.

"But-" Ichigo protested.

"Ichigo," Rukia interrupted. "He's doing the right thing. Once you've become a hollow, there is no going back to normal."

"But Rukia," Ichigo persisted.

"Don't worry," Rukia assured him. "Slaying a hollow doesn't mean killing it. It means you are purifying the soul and sending it to Soul Society where it belongs."

Ichigo said nothing and looked to the Hollow. The expression on the Hollow's face was peaceful and sad and just as he was about to stab himself, Orihime spoke up. "Brother, the last time I saw you was the day you died and I never got to say goodbye." Orihime's eyes welled up with tears. "So, goodbye, Brother."

"Yeah, goodbye Orihime," the Hollow said. He then impaled himself on Ichigo's sword, disappearing in the form of thousands of tiny blue particles. Orihime started to cry and she buried her face in Rukia's shirt.

When she stopped crying, Rukia flashed a lighter in her face and Orihime fell unconscious.

"Hey, what's that?" Ichigo asked in surprise.

"It's a memory modifier," Rukia explained. "I erased her memory of what just happened, and replaced it with a random memory."

"Huh?" Ichigo asked stupidly.

"Just wait until tomorrow," Rukia said. She then flashed the Memory Modifier in Tatsuki's face and pulled the bodies together.

"I'll finish up here, so I'll see you tomorrow," Rukia said to Shane. Shane nodded and jumped out of the hole in the wall.


	4. A Strange Thing Happened

The next day at lunch, Orihime was telling everyone how a sumo wrestler had broken into her apartment and blown a hole in her wall with a shotgun. None of the other girls believed her.

"But it's true," Orihime insisted. "Tatsuki saw it too!"

"Really?" someone asked.

"Uh, yeah..." Tatsuki said, rather embarrassed.

Rukia, Ichigo and Shane watched from a short distance away. "Is that what you meant?" Ichigo asked. Rukia nodded.

"So, you used that on my family also?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, I used it," Rukia admitted. Ichigo didn't say anything, so Rukia asked him what was wrong.

"I can't say I'm ready for this whole Death God thing," Ichigo answered. "I'm not such a good person to go around helping everyone, but neither will I sit and do nothing while people in front of me get hurt." Ichigo stuck out his hand and said, "I'd like to help you with your Death God work."

Rukia closed her eyes and smiled. "Sure," she said, taking his hand, "I look forward to it." Shane said nothing, just watched.

After school, Tatsuki and Shane were sparring at practice. "So, I hear you and Orihime had an interesting experience last night," Shane said.

"Yeah, we did," Tatsuki said. She suddenly seemed distracted and stopped what she was doing. "Is something wrong?" Shane asked.

"Nothing is wrong, it's just, well, when I think about what happened yesterday, I feel like it didn't really happen, like I just dreamed the whole thing," Tatsuki said. She looked to Shane. "The memory I have of last night, I don't know if it really happened or not," she said.

Shane handed her a water bottle. "Maybe you should forget it even happened," he suggested.

Tatsuki stared off into space. "Perhaps you are right," she said.

That night, Shane was out in Death God form. He was sitting on top of a building, admiring the evening. For some reason, he felt strange. Shane frowned as he tried to figure out what it was that was bothering him. It felt like some nagging presence in the back of his mind. Shane shook his head to clear his mind.

"It doesn't feel like anything, but why am I so tense?" he thought.

At lunch the next day, Shane found Rukia and Ichigo talking. He made his way toward them, but said nothing.

"I can't believe my injury healed so quickly," Ichigo said, rubbing his forehead.

"My grades in kido (shingami demon magic) were top level," Rukia said proudly. "Healing that was simple."

"So, Death Gods have to go to school?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course," Shane said. Ichigo whirled around. "Gah! Where did you come from!" he shouted. "Stop doing that!"

"Yes, Death Gods go to school," Shane explained. "How else you think we learn how to slay hollows and stuff?"

"More importantly, how do you open this?" Rukia asked. She held up the juice box she'd been struggling to open.

"Huh?" Ichigo said. He turned toward Rukia. "You poke the straw in and drink it."

"Straw?" Rukia asked. She turned the box over in her hand and looked closely. Shane heard someone approaching, so he quietly slipped away. It was Mizuiro Kojima, one of Ichigo's friends. Then Keigo Asano arrived, followed by Yasutora Sado, whom Ichigo called "Chad." Chad was holding a birdcage and sporting bandages on his face and right arm. Keigo asked what happened.

"The one on my head is from a steel beam that fell on me yesterday," Chad explained. Chad was taller than anyone else and very strong. His skin was tanned and his shaggy brown hair covered one of his eyes.

"A WHAT!" Keigo exclaimed.

"The one on my hand and arm was from a head-on collision with a motorcycle," Chad added. "The rider was hurt badly, so I took him to the hospital and I just got back."

"So that's why you're late," Keigo said.

"Makes me wonder what you are made of," Ichigo added.

Chad set the birdcage down, and the bird started to talk. Shane felt the same feeling he had the night before and turned around. Ichigo and Rukia were also reacting to the bird. Shane made his way back to where they were standing. Keigo was insisting Chad tell the whole story of where he had gotten the bird.

"Don't worry, Ichigo," Rukia said. "There is certainly something inside the bird, but it's nothing bad, probably just a lonely ghost."

"We should probably perform a Soul Burial anyway," Shane said. Ichigo again reacted with surprise but glared at Shane. Ichigo took the juice box from Rukia, put the straw in and handed it back. Rukia took a drink and Ichigo recalled the story of when he first met Chad.

Shane thought about the bird, whom Keigo was still trying to get to say his name. _If a spirit is indeed inhabiting that bird, how did the spirit get put into the bird and why?_ Shane frowned at the thought. Shane decided to let Ichigo and Rukia handle the Soul Burial later that night.

After school, Shane and Tatsuki were taking a break from martial arts club. They were sitting outside against the building.

"So, is there anything else you're good at besides hand to hand?" Shane asked.

Tatsuki thought for a moment. "I guess I'm a pretty good artist," she said. She looked to Shane. "What about you?"

"I'm decent with a sword," Shane replied. _If only you knew,_ he thought.

"Why don't you show me?" Tatsuki asked. She cocked her head and smiled.

 _She's kinda cute when she smiles,_ Shane thought. He then shook his head vigorously. _Stop thinking like that. You know it would never work, so don't even try,_ Shane reasoned with himself.

"Is something wrong?" Tatsuki frowned.

"No, no, nothing is wrong," Shane said hurriedly, "I just thought of something weird, that's all."

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "So, how about that sword demonstration?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Shane said.

They walked back into the building. Shane walked to a wall and stopped. He turned back to Tatsuki and asked, "One or two swords?"

"What?" Tatsuki asked. She crossed her arms and gave Shane a curious look.

"Never mind," Shane said. He picked up two wooden swords and put them in his sash, one on each hip. He walked out to the center of the room and Tatsuki leaned against the wall and watched. Shane had closed his eyes and drew a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes, Tatsuki saw they were cold and hard, and his face wore no expression. Shane's hand twitched, and there was a blur of motion. Tatsuki gasped when she saw he was now holding a sword in his right hand.

 _What just happened?_ Tatsuki thought. _I didn't even see him draw his sword. Is it even possible to move like that?_

Tatsuki continued to watch Shane. He moved very fast, cutting and slashing invisible opponents. He then stopped and slowly replaced the practice sword in his sash. When he didn't move after several moments, Tatsuki opened her mouth to ask a question, when Shane moved again. Tatsuki could do nothing but stand there with her mouth open. If she thought Shane was fast with one sword, he was even faster with a sword in each hand.

 _What is he?_ she thought.

Finally, Shane stopped. He put the swords back in his sash and faced Tatsuki. She blinked her eyes in surprise when she noticed he'd hardly broken a sweat.

"So how was that?" Shane asked. He picked up a towel and walked over to Tatsuki.

"I...uh...that..." Tatsuki stammered. She flinched when Shane grinned. "Was I that good?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," Tatsuki finally said and looked at the ground. Shane raised an eyebrow, then punched her in the head.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Tatsuki roared. She was too outraged to think about her head.

"That's the Arisawa-dono I know," Shane said grinning. Tatsuki was even more angry that Shane had addressed her with an honorific. "When I get through with you, you'll never use polite speech with me ever again!" she shouted and jumped at Shane. His grin grew even bigger.


	5. Memories

That night, Shane found himself walking on the beach. He stood there and listened to the waves breaking on the shore. The moon was in its waning phase (where the moon gets smaller and smaller), but still cast enough light. It was very still and serene. Shane enjoyed it very much. He took off his shoes and sat down on the sand, letting the water wash over his feet. Shane looked out and saw water as far as the eye could see.

"There aren't any oceans in Soul Society that I know of," he said, thinking of Soul Society...

 _I don't remember how or when I arrived in Soul Society. As far as I know, I appeared one day and said, "Here I am." It was rather difficult living in Rukongai (the part of Soul Society where the human souls live), wandering the streets, trying to survive. One day I saw a tall white tower off in the distance. "I wonder what's over there?" I asked myself. From then on, I slowly made my way to that white tower. The closer I got, the surroundings became better. Soon, there were no more dusty streets and dirt alleys, but paved roads. The buildings were in better shape and the people dressed nicer and seemed better off._

 _I noticed that no one ever seemed to eat, however, I found that after a long time, I began to wish for some food. I soon learned to tolerate the hunger, but I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker. Then one day, I collapsed in the street. I'm sure people were staring at me, a young man wearing dirty clothes, lying in the street of a wealthy neighborhood, but I didn't care. I started to think that I was going to die. I felt myself being rolled over and I looked into the face of an older man. He was wearing black robes and carried a sword in his white sash._

 _"You look pretty bad," he said. Then I passed out._

 _When I came to, I was lying in a bed in a darkened room. I sat up and looked at my surroundings. The room was pretty bare, just a window, my bed and a door. On the floor next to the bed was an empty tray. As I started to wonder where I was, the door opened and the man who saved me in the street entered._

 _"Oh, I see you are awake now," he said._

 _"Where am I and what am I doing here?" I asked._

 _"Right now, you are in my house," he replied. "As for the other question, let me ask you a question. What were you doing here in this area?"_

 _"Well, I was in a rundown area of town and when I saw the white tower, I figured that had to be someplace better than where I was," I replied._

 _The man frowned. "So, you wandered all this way, looking for a better place to live?"_

 _I nodded. "Plus, I was looking for something to eat. Do you have anything?"_

 _When I mentioned I was hungry, the man blinked in surprise. He kneeled next to me and started poking around my body, muttering to himself._

 _"Hmm. Well, let me think...yes...well...perhaps...I don't know," He sat back and thought to himself. "If only someone had found you sooner, but perhaps it will work anyway..."_

 _"Hey! What are you talking about?" I asked. The man shook his head and looked sheepish. "Nothing. Don't worry about it," he said. Then he added, "Are you still hungry?"_

 _"Well," I said, rubbing my stomach, "a little food wouldn't hurt."_

 _"That settles it then," the man said quietly. "I'll be back to get you something to eat. Just rest here until I return." He stood up and left._

 _When he returned, he was holding a rice ball or something to that nature. He handed it to me and I ate it. Immediately, I felt a little better._

 _"You wouldn't happen to have anything else, would you?" I asked sheepishly._

 _The man left and when he returned, he had more food. I ate it all quite quickly._

 _"Slow down!" the man said, "You'll make yourself sick!" When I was done eating, I sat back and he started poking around my body again._

 _"Hmm, this is unexpected," the man thought. "Very unusual. What would cause something like this?" He looked me in the face. "I will return," he said._

 _When he came back, the man was accompanied by another man, this one a bit older. He wore a white coat over his black robes. He sat next to me and poked and prodded my body and asked questions._

 _I guess I said or did something they were looking for, because shortly after that, I was enrolled in the Shinigami Academy (Death God School)._

Shane sighed at the memory. He dried his feet and put his shoes back on. As he was starting to leave, his phone beeped. Shane frowned as he took it out and looked at the message.

"A Hollow?" Shane thought. He checked the location on the map. "It's near- by." Shane pondered for a moment. "Well, the Captain did say to help Rukia, and she did ask for it. Besides, it seems to be a rather weak Hollow anyway."

Shane dug in his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a Pez candy dispenser. He popped a candy in his mouth and swallowed. There was a bright flash and when the dust cleared, Shane was wearing his shinigami uniform and his faux body was laying in the sand. Shane dragged the body to a safe place and ran off to find the hollow.

Shane heard the hollow scream and he stopped and looked around. "It's close, but where?" he thought. He felt a sensation and his eyes went wide, just as there was an explosion of sand. Shane had jumped away at the last second and he landed a short distance away.

"Mmm. I smell...a Death God!" the hollow said excitedly in a thick, deep voice. He turned to face Shane. The clouds broke and Shane had a look at the hollow. It was humanoid shaped, about ten feet tall with dark green skin. It's white mask was skull shaped with two bright yellow lights where the eyes should be. Shane said nothing.

The hollow looked around, ignoring Shane. "Where is the shinigami?" the hollow asked in confusion.

"I'm right here stupid," Shane said.

The hollow turned back to Shane. "Hmm? You?" The hollow pointed at Shane. "You look like a shinigami, but you don't smell like one." The hollow took a deep sniff. The hollow inhaled sharply enough that the rushing air ruffled Shane's hair and robes.

"Oh, I see," the hollow said. "Your smell is similar to other shinigami, but different."

"Well, since there aren't any other Death Gods around, I guess I'll have to take care of you," Shane said, narrowing his eyes.

The hollow laughed. "What can you do?"

Quick as a flash, Shane closed the distance to the hollow. He grabbed the hollow in a submission hold.

"Wh-what is happening?" the shocked hollow asked.

"Way of Binding No. 1!" Shane called out, making a hand sign. The hollow's arms wrapped around themselves behind the hollow's back and it fell in the sand, struggling to move.

Shane stood back a few steps from the hollow. He raised his right hand and grasped his right wrist with his left hand. "Way of Destruction No. 31!" Shane called out. "Red Flame Cannon!" A ball of red energy formed in the palm of Shane's outstretched hand and shot toward the Hollow, hitting it in the mask and destroying it. The hollow wailed as its body disappeared.

When the hollow was gone, Shane put his hands on his hips. "Not really a good workout," he said with a sigh. He walked back to his faux body, picked it up and merged back with it. Shane looked at his watch and upon realizing how late it was, walked back to where he was staying.


	6. The Competition Appears

The next day, Shane went to school as usual. But when Ichigo, Rukia and Chad hadn't arrived by lunch, Shane started to get suspicious.

"Where could they be?" he wondered. Shane pulled out his phone and checked the Hollow Tracker. Nothing. Shane closed the phone and frowned. He stood up and walked outside. Shane didn't notice a pair of eyes follow him.

Shane walked though the school grounds and stopped. "Why are you following me?" he asked without turning around.

"Hmm. I see," a voice said. Shane glanced behind him and saw a tall, skinny guy standing there. He had pale skin, long dark hair and rectangular glasses. Shane turned around to face him.

"How long have you known?" Shane asked.

"Since the day you arrived," the boy replied. He pushed his glasses up on his face and Shane saw his eyes were hard and narrow.

"May I ask how you knew?" Shane asked, crossing his arms.

"I should expect such a stupid question from someone like you," the boy sneered.

"Oh?" Shane asked. Just then, everything was drowned out by a soft blue light. What appeared to be white colored ribbons floated out of the ground around Shane's feet and danced lazily in the breeze.

"Spirit threads, eh?" Shane commented. "I see you can condense spirit energy into these spirit threads."

The boy reached out and grabbed the air in front of Shane's face. A red ribbon appeared in his hand. "This red sprit thread means you're are a Death God, Shane Akiyama," he said coldly.

Shane narrowed his eyes and quickly disappeared, then reappeared closer to the boy. Shane could see the shock on his face.

"And this," Shane said, grabbing at the air in the boy's face, "means you are a Quincy." Shane paused for dramatic effect as a blue spirit thread appeared in his hand, before adding, "Uryuu Ishida."

The boy gasped. "How do you know my name?" he asked in a shaky voice. Shane didn't answer and disappeared, as did the spirit threads, leaving Uryuu standing alone in the school yard.

"Who was that guy?" he asked himself.

A short distance away, Shane watched Uryuu's reaction and grinned. "It's my job to know these things," Shane called out cryptically. Uryuu whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice. This cause Shane to laugh.

Uryuu regained his composure and adjusted his glasses. "Why don't you come out, _shinigami_ ," he said with a sneer.

"Why should I?" Shane shot back. He was quite interested how the young Quincy would act.

Uryuu crossed his arms and looked smug. "Are you Death Gods afraid of a Quincy's power?" he called out.

Shane sighed and popped a piece of Soul Candy in his mouth, separating from his faux body, however, he remained hidden.

Uryuu was feeling confident, so he started to pace around. "I should expect as much from a Death God. You act like you are the ultimate authority, but you are afraid of a single Quincy. You are pathetic. Come and show yourself."

Shane used a technique called Flash Step (a method of rapidly covering large distances) to appear behind Uryuu, who whirled around in surprise.

"I should expect as much from the one who claims the title as 'The Last Quincy,'" Shane retorted. His eyes were hard and his face expressionless. Uryuu and Shane stared at each other for what seemed like an hour. "Well then," Uryuu said, breaking the tension, "how about a competition?"

"What kind of competition?" Shane asked, folding his arms. Uryuu reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a small capsule. "This contest is simple," Uryuu explained. "This is Hollow bait. When I break this, Hollows will appear. Whoever kills the most hollows in 24 hours, wins."

"What if I refuse?" Shane asked. The Last Quincy glared at Shane. "Then you prove that _shinigami_ are, in fact, inferior to Quincy. Are you that unwilling to prove this?" Uryuu glanced to Shane's waist. "How can you call yourself a Death God?" he sneered, "you don't even have a Soul Slayer."

Shane's eyes narrowed and he used Flash Steps to get behind Uryuu again. To Uryuu, it appeared that Shane was standing in front of him, and in the blink of an eye, Shane was behind him and had one arm around Uryuu's neck and the other hand pressed against the side of Uryuu's head.

"I don't need my Soul Slayer to kill you," Shane whispered in Uryuu's ear. Uryuu's eyes widened at how cold and chilling Shane's voice was.

The next instant, Shane had flash stepped again and was standing in front of Uryuu. Shane frowned as he said, "I've carefully considered your offer, and I refuse."

Uryuu's left eye started to twitch. "But, why?" he asked.

Shane shrugged and his eyes softened. "I find the idea of you challenging me, a Death God, to a Hollow-killing contest very stupid. Besides, I just don't want too."

Uryuu was stunned. _Just how many surprises does this guy have up his sleeve?_ he thought. _And he's completely unpredictable. A most dangerous combination._

Shane turned to leave. As he was walking away, a Hollow appeared to Uryuu's surprise. He held out his right arm and a bow made of blue spirit energy appeared from the cross pendant on his bracelet. Uryuu drew the bow and fired an arrow.

Shane glanced behind him and saw Uryuu shoot the arrow. Faster than they eye could follow and all in one motion, Shane deflected the arrow with his bare hand and fired Way of Destruction No. 4 (White Lighting) at the hollow. The Demon Magic broke the hollow's mask, killing it. To Uryuu's eyes, it seemed his arrow was blocked, but somehow the hollow was still killed.

After the Hollow disappeared, Shane turned back to Uryuu. "You want to challenge a Death God eh?" he said. Shane put his hands behind his head and sighed. "I think you should either find another Death God or give up being a Quincy because I won't accept your challenge, and you're not good enough to challenge me in the first place."

Uryuu's face burned with embarrassment and fury as Shane disappeared using flash steps. Uryuu clenched his hand in a fist until his knuckles turned white. "I swear..." he hissed.


	7. Hell and a Dinner Party

Shane retrieved his faux body and went back to school. When school ended and Rukia, Ichigo, and Chad still hadn't shown up, Shane decided to go look for them. As he was leaving, he felt someone tap on his shoulder. It was Tatsuki and Orihime.

"Um, Akiyama-kun?" Orihime asked. Shane could tell she was slightly uncomfortable as she giggled nervously.

"Orihime and I would like to invite you over for dinner," Tatsuki said. Shane blinked in surprise. "Uh, okay, but why?" he asked.

Tatsuki glared at him. "Why not?" she insisted. "You are a new classmate and we simply wanted to invite you to dinner and to talk."

Shane thought for a moment. _Be careful,_ he warned himself. He grinned and said, "Sure, I'll do it." But then he added, "I don't know where you live,"

"That's okay," Orihime said smiling. "We'll just pick you up from your house."

"That's not necessary," Shane said hurriedly, waving his hands. Tatsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" Orihime pouted. Shane's mind raced to come up with an answer. "I...uh...um...well, it's like..." he stammered.

"How about you meet us here at the school at six o'clock and we'll walk to Orihime's house. It's not very far from here," Tatsuki said finally. She was starting to get tired of Shane's excuses.

"Oh, Tatsuki-chan, that's a great idea!" Orihime agreed. She gave Shane a big smile. _She's so ditzy,_ Shane thought, smiling. "Okay, it's agreed," he said.

"I'm going to make lots of food, so bring your appetite!" Orhime said and she ran off. Tatsuki sighed.

"What, can't she cook?" Shane asked, noticing Tatsuki's reaction.

"Orihime has a very interesting taste in food," Tatsuki replied. She thought about the things Orihime had made and shuddered. "I'll have my mom make something and I'll bring it tonight so you won't starve from Orihime's cooking," she added.

"Well, okay, I'll see you later," Shane said. He turned and left. Tatsuki watched him leave. _He certainly is an interesting character,_ she thought. She then turned around and walked home.

Shane was sitting on the roof of the school, waiting for six o'clock to come. He leaned back and watched as the sun was starting to set. Just then, he heard a loud howling sound. Shane jumped up and frantically scanned the city for the source of the noise. He heard it again and popped a pill in his mouth to change into a Death God. Shane used flash steps to rapidly close the distance.

Shane arrived a few heartbeats later in a kneeled position. He looked up and saw Ichigo, Rukia and Chad standing there. They looked to be in pretty bad shape.

"Are you all okay?" Shane asked.

Ichigo turned around in surprise and shouted, "How long have you been standing there?" Rukia glared at Ichigo in annoyace.

"I just got here," Shane explained. He stood up and watched as two giant doors appeared out of the ground. These doors were purple in color with black trim. Each door had the upper torso of a skeleton on it and each skull had a bandanna covering one eye. The skeletons reached across the doors and pulled them open, revealing what seemed to be an alternate dimension that consisted of darkness and flames. There was a hollow suspended in the air.

"What is that?" Ichigo gasped.

"The Gates of Hell," Rukia calmly explained. "When hollows are killed by our Soul Slayers, the soul is purified of the sins it committed as a hollow and is sent to Soul Society. But souls that committed mortal sins in life are sent to Hell."

Ichigo attempted to look away. "Stop!" Rukia commanded. Ichigo gave her a pained expression. "Remember this well."

"This is only the second time I've ever seen them," Shane commented.

The hollow was suspended in the air between the open doors. Just then, a giant sword pierced the hollow in the midsection. The hollow screamed in pain and terror, causing Ichigo to wince. Shane watched with a stony expression. The sword withdrew back into Hell, taking the hollow with it and the doors clanged shut. After a moment, the doors started to crack, then shattered into a million pieces and disappeared.

Shane breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Ichigo, Chad and Rukia. He noticed Rukia had cuts and bruised all over her body and Chad was bleeding from a cut on his head.

"Tough battle, eh?" Shane commented.

Ichigo growled and grabbed Shane by his robe, pulling him close. "Where have you been?" he hissed, "we needed your help!"

Shane glared at Ichigo. "Please remove your hand before I remove it for you," he said evenly. Rukia simply watched the exchange.

Ichigo's face twisted in anger and he slowly released Shane from his grasp. Shane dusted himself off and looked to Rukia. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Rukia sighed. "I'll be fine," she said.

"Hey!" Ichigo shouted, "Don't ignore me!"

"Why?" Shane asked. Ichigo took a step back. "Because you're a Death God and this is your job," he tried to explain.

"Wrong!" Shane said sternly. Ichigo shut up and Rukia perked up to listen. "My job, was simply to observe Rukia. But since she gave you her power, my job was to assist her as needed. So, have I needed to assist her?" Shane asked.

Ichigo thought for a moment. "Well, no?"

"Exactly. I haven't needed to help because you're around to do Rukia's job for her." Shane said. "I'll still be around if things get too far out of hand, but I won't do your work for you."

Ichigo stared at Shane with a blank expression on his face. Rukia lowered her face to the ground so Ichigo couldn't see her smiling. She looked up and said, "Ichigo, let's go check on that bird." Ichigo took a step back from Shane, then turned to Rukia. While his back was turned, Shane disappeared and went back to the school.

When six o'clock rolled around, Shane waited by the school gates for Tatsuki and Orihime. Shane watched the sun set behind the buildings of Karakura Town (the name of the town where they live).

"Hey! Akiyama-san!" a cheery voiced called out. Shane turned his and saw Tatsuki and Orihime approaching. Orihime was giggling and waving her hand and Tatsuki rolled her eyes and smiled. Shane couldn't help but smile and he waved back.

"I'm so glad you decided to come!" Orhime said excitedly, "I made a lot of yummy food!"

Shane looked to Tatsuki who shrugged with a pained expression on her face. Shane turned back to Orihime and smiled. Orihime grabbed his hand and dragged him off. "Hurry! This way to my house!" she said happily.

"Wait Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted after her and ran to catch up.

They arrived where Orihime lived and walked up to her apartment. Shane took off his shoes and went inside. It was small, but well furbished and clean. There was a low table set out in the living room and on it were place settings for three. "Sit down and it will be ready in a minute!" Orihime shouted, running to the kitchen.

Tatsuki leaned to whisper in Shane's ear. "I brought food from my house just in case." Shane nodded sheepishly. Orihime appeared and waved them in. "Come in and sit down!" she said.

Shane and Tatsuki sat down at the table and Orihime brought out the food. Shane's eyes went wide at all the different food items she set in front of him.

"I hope you like it!" Orihime said sitting down, "I spent all afternoon cooking, so there is plenty of food."

Orihime loaded her bowl and Shane took Tatsuki's lead and carefully picked through the food. Shane took a bite and chewed slowly. "It's not bad," he said.

"Really?" Orihime asked. She giggled and continued eating. Shane finished his bowl and took more. Tatsuki shot glances at Shane to make sure he wasn't going to get sick or anything.

When they were done eating, Orihime stood up. "How about desert?" she asked. Not waiting for a reply, she ran off to the kitchen. As soon as she was gone, Tatsuki leaned over to Shane. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Shane nodded. "Orihime certainly has an interesting taste in food," he said.

"Sometimes, I don't know how she's lived this long eating her own cooking," Tatsuki said. Shane nodded and added, "She eats so much, I wonder where it all goes?"

Tatsuki glared at Shane and made a fist. "What do you mean?" she growled.

"No no no," Shane quickly said and put his hands up, "That was a serious question." He grinned sheepishly and thoughts of 10th squad's lieutenant quickly ran through his mind.

Orihime appeared, holding three bowls of ice cream and an armload of toppings. "Now for ice cream!" she said. Shane and Tatsuki took theirs plain while Orihime loaded hers with things Shane never would have guessed could go on ice cream. After the table was cleared, they sat back and relaxed.

"Please tell me about America," Orihime asked, leaning forward. Shane was slightly taken aback at how intently she was staring at him.

"Well..." Shane thought, rubbing his chin. "It's certainly different than here. There is more open space and people aren't so crowded together." Actually, Shane had no idea what America was like. He couldn't remember ever having been there, so he described it similar to Soul Society.

"Wow!" Orihime gasped, "it sounds like a neat place! I hope I get to visit there someday!" Orihime stared off and smiled. _I doubt it,_ Shane thought. To change the subject, Shane said, "So I take it you live here alone?"

Orihime nodded. "I used to share this house with my older brother, but he died a few years ago and I've been alone ever since." As she mentioned her brother, Orihime's face fell and Tatsuki looked concerned. Shane thought back to that night when the hollow had attacked Orihime. "You must miss him very much," he said.

Orihime nodded, then smiled. "These hair pins were a gift from him," she said, pointing to her head. "When he first gave them to me, I wouldn't wear them because I thought they were silly looking and childish. But since he died, I wear them every day in memory of him." Orihime's eyes started to water and Tatsuki patted her on the back.

"What about you Tatsuki?" Shane asked, changing the subject.

"I live with both my parents," Tatsuki explained. "I guess I'm the only normal one."

"What do you mean?" Shane asked.

"Well, Orihime and Chad live alone, Ichigo has his sisters and dad and most the other kids at school live with only one parent," Tatsuki explained. She shrugged and added, "It doesn't bother me though,"

"Do you have a special someone back in America?" Orihime suddenly asked and leaned forward.

Shane choked on his drink and blushed a little. "What?" he asked in surprise.

"Do you have a girlfriend or something like that back where you live?" Orihime asked.

Shane smiled sheepishly and leaned back a little. He stared off into space searching his memory. Tatsuki and Orihime could feel a story coming on, so they leaned in closer.

"Her name is Olivia," Shane said.


	8. Memories Pt 2

_When I first started at the Shinigami Academy, I had no friends. I was an outsider, since I came from the poorest part of Soul Society. All the others came from wealthy families or at least had other friends. It was a little disheartening at first, but I was used to being alone._

 _One day, as I was walking through the halls, I overheard some older students gossiping in the hall. It seemed there was a new student arriving that day. I figured it was someone from one of the noble families, so I paid it no mind. Later that same day after class, the professor took me aside to his office and introduced me to not one, but two female students I had never seen before._

 _"Shane, I would like you to meet Olivia Inoyama and Akuma Izu. It has been decided that you three will finish training here at the Academy together."_

 _I finally took a good look at Olivia and Akuma. Olivia was shorter than I and had shoulder length red-gold hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her bangs were split in the middle and curved just above her green eyes. She was small and appeared quite frail, but her eyes sparkled with life._

 _Akuma, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Olivia. Akuma was tall and ruddy looking, but very pale, and had long dark hair that fell below her waist. While Olivia seemed to be a very open person, Akuma was rather reserved, like myself. But when she looked at me, her eyes were hard and cold as steel. I felt like the room temperature had dropped and I shivered._

 _"I am pleased to meet you," Olivia said, bowing in greeting. She smiled and I decided I liked her instantly._

 _"Same," Akuma said simply. My eyes narrowed as I stared back. There was something hidden about Akuma that I didn't like._

 _From that day forward, the three of us were always together. When the class went out on field missions, we were always grouped together. Outside of class, we never really associated with any of the other students. Maybe it was because the others were all privileged and we were nobodies from nowhere._

 _As training went on, we discovered things about each other. Olivia had frail health and was often sick, but she was very outgoing and always had a smiling face and never said a bad word about anyone. As it turned out, Olivia was also very strong at kido. I, on the other hand, opened up to others after a little while. I was initially shy and didn't really speak to anyone. I was an all-around type person who was pretty good at everything, but excelled more at hand to hand. Akuma turned out to be very popular and was the center of attraction in every room she entered. It was obvious she liked all the attention she was getting. But deep down, I began to wonder about Akuma. Her happy face and peppy personality all seemed to be an act, as if she were hiding something deeper, more sinister. Akuma also proved to be the best swordsman in the class. Every time Akuma fought, even if it was just practice, she was always out for blood. With every swing, I could see the murderous intent in her eye. I hated sparring with her._

 _As graduation from the Academy approached, we all took placement exams to see where we would be going after graduation. Because of my excellent hand to hand, I was chosen for the Secret Mobile Corps. Olivia was sent to Squad 4, which was the relief and health care squad, which made perfect sense because of Olivia's sickness. Akuma was placed in Squad 5, under Captain Aizen. I could never figure out why she was chosen to go there. I thought for sure she'd get taken in by Squad 11, which was the combat specialist squad._

 _After we graduated, Olivia and I still spent as much time together as our schedules allowed. We never really saw Akuma though. We'd pass in the halls and say hello, but that was about it. I guess it's natural for people to drift apart after a while._

Shane was lost in his own world. As the minutes drifted by, Tatsuki started to get impatient. She growled and crossed her arms. Finally she'd had enough. "Hey, snap out of it stupid!" she exploded.

Tatsuki's outburst startled Shane out of his memories. "Uh, sorry about that," he said sheepishly.

"This Olivia person seems really nice," Orihime said. She stared off and smiled. "I'd like to meet her someday," she said.

"I'm sure you'd get along fine," Shane said. _Too bad it will never happen,_ he thought.

"Since you are so good at hand to hand, tell me about the dojo where you learned," Tatsuki said. She sat forward and eagerly awaited Shane's answer.

"My dojo, eh?" Shane said. He rubbed his chin and checked back into his memories.

 _When I graduated the Academy, I was pretty good at hand to hand. When I arrived at the Secret Mobile Corps., it seemed like all we did was train and go on missions. While there, my hand to hand improved so much, no one could touch me. I even stopped carrying my Soul Slayer. Captain Soifon took notice._

 _One day, I was training against multiple enemies. I took a stance and the judge signaled to start. One after the other, they came at me and I quickly knocked them down. Everything became a blur. I blocked a kick to my midsection and I realized in a flash that the foot I was holding on to belonged to Captain Soifon. She took advantage of my hesitation and attempted a counter strike with her other foot, but I blocked that blow and pushed her away. She came at me again and we sparred for a few minutes._

 _"So, you're willing to fight against me, eh?" she said, sneering. "Aren't you afraid?"_

 _I remained on guard as I replied, "I don't care that you are the Corps. Commander. I'm willing to go all out with anyone who steps in here with me, including you."_

 _Captain Soifon's eyes narrowed. "You talk pretty tough for someone who came from one of the poorest districts in Rukongai. Normally, I wouldn't even bother with someone like you, but I want to see what you really have."_

 _We continued to fight, our battle growing in intensity. We became so loud, people began to crowd around to discover what the big fuss was all about. By the look on her face, it seemed to me that Captain Soifon was getting angry._

 _After a particularly violent clash, we jumped apart from each other, leaving a wide space. I was breathing a bit heavy and I had small cuts and bruises all over. I looked across to Captain Soifon and saw she was panting and had a few bruises. Her face was twisted in fury. "I can see that you have some talent," she said. "But that alone won't help you survive in the SMC," she added._

 _I said nothing and bowed as she left. After that incident, I began receiving increasingly harder and harder missions. I think it frustrated her when I kept coming back alive and successful._

"Like I've said, I'm mostly self taught," Shane said, breaking out of his memory. "But my sensei was a very tough, no-nonsense type of person. She demanded perfection and pushed me very hard. As a result, I worked hard and earned her respect."

"A woman?" Tatsuki asked. Her eyes grew wide. "I would like to meet your sensei. Do you think that would be possible?" Tatsuki asked.

"Maybe someday," Shane lied. He laid back and rubbed his stomach. "Wow, that was a great meal Orihime," he said.

Tatsuki's eyes went wide and Orihime beamed. "Really? Wow! Thank you Akiyama-san!"

Shane put his hands up. "Please, just call me Shane," he said.

Tatsuki leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Are you serious?" Shane grinned at Tatsuki and said through his teeth, "I'm probably going to be in the bathroom for hours."

To change the subject, Shane quickly said, "So, how long have you two known each other?"

"Since middle school," Tatsuki said. "I saved Orihime from some bullies who were trying to take advantage of her and we've been friends ever since."

"What about Ichigo?" Shane asked.

"I've known Ichigo since I was four," Tatsuki said. "He came into the dojo one day with his mom and I've known him since."

"I don't know how long I've known him," Orihime pondered. As she thought about Ichigo, she became quiet and blushed a little. "I'll take the dishes," she said hurriedly and ran off to the kitchen.

"She's in love with Ichigo, isn't she?" Shane whispered to Tatsuki when she was out of sight. Tatsuki nodded her head. "You haven't been here very long and you figured it out. Now if only Ichigo would stop being stupid, he would see it too."

Shane blinked. "You mean he doesn't know?"

"He's totally oblivious." Tatsuki threw her hands in the air. She thought for a moment, and a sinister grin crossed her face.

"Wanna hear a secret about Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked. Shane's ears perked up. "Oh?" he asked.

"Normally when you spell his name, it means 'one who protects.' But if you spell it using different characters, Ichigo means 'strawberry.' "

Shane's face fell and he got a stupid look on his face. "Is that all?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki growled, making a fist.

"Nothing, nothing," Shane replied. He looked at his watch and saw how late it was getting. He stood up and called out, "Thank you again for dinner, Orihime. It's getting late, so I'm going to leave now, okay?"

Orihime poked her head around the corner. "Okay! See you tomorrow!" She smiled and waved and Shane couldn't help but smile back.

"I think I'll stay and help Orihime clean up a bit," Tatsuki said. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. Shane stared at her and he noticed that Tatsuki had a very slender body type. He shook his head vigorously and walked to the door. "Bye," he called out and left.


	9. No Idle Threat

As he was walking down the street, the wind suddenly picked up. A newspaper was blown across the street and the light poles swayed in the wind. Just then, the street lights began to flicker, then went out. The only illumination was the moon shining overhead and the light from streetlights further down the street. Shane felt a presence behind him and his spine tingled. Shane closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw a bench, so he went and sat down and waited.

"Ah, what do we have here?" a voice from his past asked.

Shane cocked his head and replied, "Quit messing around and come out. I know where you are."

"Oh, why are you always trying to ruin my fun?" the voice pouted. Shane sighed. "I'm tired of waiting," he said.

"Then come and find me," the voice retorted.

"Maybe I don't want to," Shane shot back. He could feel his temper rising, so he mentally forced it back.

Shane felt a puff of wind and heard the sound of someone landing lightly on their feet. He looked up and saw someone standing before him. She was wearing shinigami robes and holding a katana with a long blade, her Soul Slayer. Since it was dark, Shane couldn't tell who it was, but that didn't matter since he already knew.

"What are you doing here?" Shane asked, standing up. "Akuma Izu."

Akuma smiled smugly and lifted her Soul Slayer over her shoulder. "Should I be impressed that you still know my name?" she asked. She grinned and pointed to her Soul Slayer. "Izanami here says to tell you that she misses fighting against your Soul Slayer."

"What are you doing here?" Shane asked again. He gave her a cold stare and she stared back.

"What, I'm not allowed to visit the living world once and a while?" Akuma pouted. She pointed at Shane. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm actually here on orders," Shane said evenly.

"Oh?" Akuma asked, tilting her head to the side. "What kind of orders?"

"Observation work," Shane said. He crossed his arms and asked again, "What are you doing here?"

Akuma put her hands on her hips and leaned forward until her face was inches from Shane's nose. He didn't flinch. "You always were direct and to the point," Akuma recalled. They stared each other in the eye, neither wanting to back down. "I'm here at Captain Aizen's bidding," she finally said.

"What would that be?" Shane asked.

"Observation work," Akuma sneered. Shane's eyes narrowed. Akuma squinted at Shane. "What are you doing in a faux body?" she asked.

"This is part of my orders," Shane explained. He didn't want to tell her more than he had too.

Akuma stood back. "I see," she said bluntly. "What happened between you and me?" she suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Shane replied.

"I mean, when we were at the Academy, we were good friends, but after that, we just stopped talking." Akuma said. Shane stared into her eyes and was met with a cold stare.

"I guess people just grow apart when they realize they aren't the same," Shane offered. Silence hung above them like a dense fog.

"Hmph. Well, whatever," Akuma said and she turned to leave. She took a few steps then turned around to look at Shane. "By the way, have you seen Rukia Kuchiki recently?"

Shane's heart skipped a beat, but he let nothing show on his face. "Why?" he asked.

Akuma shrugged. "Well, it's been a while since she last reported in and her time here in this world is almost up. If you happen to see her, remind her what happens if she stays past her time limit." Her gaze was cold as ice and Shane's spine tingled.

"Why is Captain Aizen suddenly so interested in Rukia Kuchiki?" Shane asked.

Akuma thought for a minute and shrugged. "He's not interested in her. Yet, anyway," Akuma flashed Shane an evil smile. "Well, I've got to go. I'll say hello to everyone for you, okay?" Before she vanished, she added, "Oh, and be on your guard. Something big is going down soon. You wouldn't want to be caught unprepared, would you?"

Before Shane could say or do anything, Akuma vanished. He growled and silently cursed. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When he heard the line pick up, Shane said, "I think we might have a bit of a problem Captain Ukitake."

The next day, Shane received a message on his phone. He checked who it was from and was surprised to see it was from Rukia. Since he was still at school, Shane excused himself to go to the restroom and simply left. He met Rukia on top of a hill that over looked the cemetery. She was wearing a pale yellow sun dress and a wide brimmed straw hat. Rukia was sitting on the ground looking over the city. Shane silently walked up next to her.

"I came as soon as I got your message," Shane said. Rukia glanced up at him but said nothing. After a moment of silence, Shane sat in the grass next to Rukia.

"Did you need something?" Shane asked. Rukia nodded her head. "Have you been having problems with your faux body?" she asked.

Shane worked his arms around to loosen up. "No not really," he said.

Rukia's face fell. "Ever since Ichigo took my power, I've been stuck in this faux body. I thought that my power would return over time."

"Isn't that the purpose of a faux body?" Shane asked.

Rukia nodded her head. "But for some reason, my powers haven't returned. In fact, I think I'm getting weaker every day. Even weak hollows aren't harmed by my kido."

Shane frowned and thought for a moment. "Did you tell Urahara about this?" he asked. Rukia shook her head. "I'm not sure I want to."

"What do you mean?" Shane asked.

"There is something suspicious about this whole thing," Rukia said. "On that night when Ichigo took my power, Urahara just happened to arrive and give me a faux body."

"Do you think Urahara intentionally gave you a defective faux body?" Shane asked. Rukia shrugged. "I don't know," she said quietly. She then smiled and looked to Shane. "I'm glad you are around so I have someone to talk to about these things," she said. Shane's left eyebrow raised in question.

"I mean, I can talk to you because you understand being a shinigami and you know what Soul Society is like. Ichigo is just clueless about those types of things," Rukia explained.

"I noticed you have to explain a lot of things to him," Shane said.

Rukia nodded. "It's because he's still a living human, not just a soul." Rukia frowned. "I do my best to make him understand, but he can make things so difficult sometimes."

"How?" Shane asked. He leaned back and looked out. From this point, he could see all of Karakura Town.

Rukia turned so she could look at Shane. "For instance, he makes fun of my wonderful illustrations," she said. Shane thought of Rukia's drawings and tried not to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Rukia threatened.

"Nothing," Shane said. "What else?"

Rukia went on with her complaints. "And sometimes, he completely ignores me. Sometimes I wonder how he can even kill hollows the way he does. He's loud and really annoying sometimes. It seems like all we do is argue."

"I suppose his enormous Spirit Power has something to do with killing hollows, but as for all that other stuff, you're on your own there," Shane said. Rukia rubbed her chin. "Perhaps," she said.

Another moment of silence passed between them and Shane asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Ichigo and his family are here to visit their mother's grave," Rukia explained. "I could be wrong, but there is something suspicious about Ichigo's mother's death."

Shane sat up, suddenly interested. "What do you mean?"

"Last night I asked him about it and he briefly mentioned that he had killed his mother," Rukia said. "His remark caught me by surprise and I couldn't think of anything to say. And today, I mentioned that a hollow could have killed her and Ichigo became very upset and yelled at me. He said 'Everything is about Hollows with you people,' and he ran off. He insists that he is the one who killed her." Rukia's face fell.

Shane sat up and put his arm around Rukia's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," he said. Rukia glanced up at him and he smiled. "Ichigo is strong. But, even strong people have to be weak sometimes. It seems to me that Ichigo blames himself for taking away something that was important for the whole family. This is his way of showing his pain."

Rukia looked down at the grass. "You may be right," she said. She stared out in to space and added, "If, someday, he wants to tell me about it, then I will wait until then."

Shane looked over the city again and had a sudden thought. "Does this remind you of something?" he asked.

Rukia looked up and after a moment said, "It does." They both started to remember how things were back in Soul Society.

"By the way, how have you been?" Shane asked. When Rukia looked confused, Shane clarified. "I mean, before now, I haven't seen much of you in Soul Society. Is everything okay? How's the family?"

Rukia smiled. "Things have been just fine," she said. "Byakuya has been busy with work. I doubt he misses me." With that, Rukia's face fell a little.

Shane decided to cheer her up with some good news. "Hey, I have a surprise for you," he said.

Rukia quickly turned to Shane. "Really? What is it?"

"Well, right before you left for your mission here in the living world, a certain someone was promoted to Lieutenant," Shane said mysteriously.

"Who?" Rukia pleaded.

"Now now, I'll give you three guesses but you probably only need one," Shane said. When Rukia didn't get it, Shane gave her a hint. "Red spiky hair?"

Rukia's eyes went wide. "Renji?" she shrieked. "Oh, that's great! What division?"

"You'll like this," Shane said, "He now works for..." Shane paused for dramatic effect. "Dun-da-dun! Captain Kuchiki!"

"Really?" Rukai asked. Her eyes were sparkling and a huge grin appeared on her face. "I'm happy for Renji," she said. "I think working for nii-sama will be good for him. Renji has worked very hard and he deserves the promotion."

"We'll just have to wait and see how this works out," Shane said.


	10. Character Development (More Talking)

Silence once again surrounded them. Rukia then thought back to when she first met Shane. "You know, it was a day similar to this one when I first met you," Rukia said.

"I remember," Shane said, nodding his head.

 _I had a question I wanted to ask Captain Ukitake. As I neared his room, I heard voices coming from within. The door was open, so I silently peeked in the room. Captain Ukitake was standing facing the door and a person whom I'd never seen before was standing before Captain Ukitake with his back to the door. I couldn't hear what was being said. Captain Ukitake happened to look up and saw me standing in the door._

 _"Ah, Rukia," he said. "Please, come in."_

 _Rather embarrassed at being discovered, I came into the room looking at the floor and stood next to the new person._

 _"You've come at a good time," Captain Ukitake said. "I was just welcoming our new squad member."_

 _I finally looked up and the first thing I saw was your upper body. Realizing you were that much taller than me, I looked up and finally saw your face._

 _"Rukia Kuchiki, this is Shane Akiyama," Captain Ukitake said. You turned toward me, and I saw your face was blank and expressionless. Then you smiled and introduced yourself._

 _"Good moring, Kuchiki-san," you said, bowing slightly._

 _"Please, just call me Rukia," I said. I never really liked being addressed with honorifics._

 _"Shane here was just transfered from the Secret Mobile Corps." Captain Ukitake said. "I think he will make a fine addition to our squad."_

 _From that day forward, we became quite friendly._

Rukia frowned at the memory. "If I recall correctly, your uniform was rumpled and you had small cuts and bruises on your face. You looked like you had gotten into a fight or something."

Shane laughed. "Now that you mention it, let me tell you what happened.

 _I received a summons to Captain Soifon's room. While I was on my way to meet her, I was trying to think of why she wanted to see me. I couldn't remember messing something up or having done something good. I was quite confused._

 _I arrived at her quarters and opened the door. She was sitting in her little chair, flanked by her Lieutenant, who's name I could never remember. I kneeled before her and bowed. "You summoned me, Captain Soifon?" I said._

 _The Lieutenant, a big hulking man, approached me and handed me a scroll. I pulled the string off and started reading. My eyes widened in shock as I read._

 _"I'm being transfered?" I shouted._

 _"Silence!" the Lieutenant roared. "How dare you raise your voice in the Captain's presence."_

 _"But why?" I asked, "Haven't I done a good job? Haven't I done everything you've asked of me and more?"_

 _Captain Soifon said nothing and glared at me. The Lieutenant stood before me and puffed himself up. "Shane Akiyama," he thundered, "You are hereby transfered to Squad 13 of the 13 Court Guard Squads, under the command of Captain Ukitake, effective immediately."_

 _I said nothing as I stood to leave, but inside, my fury burned. As I reached the door, I stopped and turned around. "Thank you for letting me serve under you, Captain Soifon," I said and bowed. Before she or her Lieutenant could say anything, I was gone._

 _As I walked, my anger burned hotter and hotter. When I couldn't take it anymore, I found myself out side Squad 11's barracks. On impulse, I stormed up the path and kicked in the door._

 _"Alright, you 11th Squad pansies," I shouted, "Which of you wishes to take me on?" They simply sat there, too surprised to say anything. While no one moved, I became angrier and I flipped a table over. "Come on," I said, "I'll take you on bare handed!" I shouted all kinds of insults and they finally got pissed off and came at me. An hour later, the entire barracks looked like something exploded. Windows and furniture were broken and 11th squad members lay unconscious. Breathing heavy and satisfied, I left to meet with Captain Ukitake._

"Wow," Rukia said. "You really took out all of 11th squad?"

"Well, not everyone," Shane said. "I was pretty fortunate that Captain Zaraki, Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa were away on a mission, or else I wouldn't be sitting here, talking to a dear friend of mine." Rukia smiled.

Shane suddenly became serious and said, "Rukia, I have something important to tell you."

Rukia's face fell. "I know what you are going to say," she said quietly.

About that time, Rukia's backpack started to rustle and move around and a lion plushie doll popped out.

"Ah, Rukia what am I doing in here?" the lion asked.

"I told you. If a Hollow appears, Ichigo needs you to change to a shinigami," Rukia replied matter-of-factly.

"Gah!" the lion exasperated. "Rukia, you need to take a break once in a while. It's always about fighting Hollows with you. If you do nothing but work, no one will want to be friends with you." The plushie doll opened his eyes and noticed Shane for the first time.

"Huh? Who are you?" the plushie asked.

"I should ask you the same question," Shane said. Quick as a flash, he grabbed the lion doll and held it by the head.

"HEY!" it hollered, kicking its legs in mid air. "Put me down this instant!" Then the doll began to cry. "I don't deserve to be treated this way," it sobbed.

Shane ignored the doll and cocked his head to the side. "Rukia, what is this thing?" he asked.

Rukia grinned. "That is Ichigo's mod soul that he uses to become a Death God. As you can see, this particular mod soul has some defect that naturally found its way to Urahara's shop and somehow into my possession."

"This lion thing is the mod soul?" Shane asked. He turned the doll over in his hands and examined it closely.

"Hey! Stop that! Help! Someone please help! Don't look there, you idiot!" the doll shrieked.

"No, the mod soul is a pill that is inside the mouth of the doll," Rukia explained.

"So I see that mod souls can bring stuffed animals to life," Shane said. "Very interesting."

"Of course, Kon there, has caused Ichigo and I nothing but trouble since the day I got him," Rukia said. At this, Kon started to cry.

"Please don't say such harsh words, Rukia-san," Kon pleaded. "Please forgive me for my unsightly actions," he said as he jumped out of Shane's grasp and straight for Rukia's-

She caught the doll with her hand and flung him to the ground. "Idiot," she huffed. Kon whimpered face down in the dirt.

Shane watched, his eyes growing wide. "Is it like this every time?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Rukia said.

Shane frowned. "I'm glad I don't have any mod soul pills. I'd hate to think what it would be doing in my body." Rukia merely grinned at the memory.

"Hey! Stop talking about me like that!" Kon shouted. He quickly jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Rukia. "I'm an important member of the team. Without me, you and Ichigo would be powerless." Kon turned away with a humph and ignored Rukia and Shane.

"You're having quite the power trip there, aren't you," Shane said. "Shut up!" Kon shouted. He glared at Shane. "You talk pretty big for someone who's not even a Death God."

"Oh, is that what you think?" Shane asked. He quickly reached out and grabbed Kon by the throat. Shane stuffed his hand in the plushie's mouth and felt around, while Kon was kicking and screaming in protest, but since Shane's hand was in his mouth, Kon's curses sounded like incoherent mumbling.

Shane found what he was looking for and pulled a small green pill out of Kon's mouth. The lion doll fell limp in Shane's hand.

"Not so tough now are you, big guy," Shane mocked the small round pill.

"You didn't have to do that," Rukia said, slightly annoyed. "Kon hates it enough when Ichigo does it, but what you did was stupid."

"Eh, I was tired of listening to him talk," Shane shrugged. Rukia folded her arms and stared at Shane.

"Oh come on, don't give me that look," Shane pleaded. "You can't tell me that you've wanted to do the same thing,"

A small grin crept across Rukia's stern face. "You're right. There are times when I just wanted to shut him up for a little while. Plus, Kon can't get into trouble when he's just a pill."

"You hear that?" Shane said to the green pill and pointed a finger. "You behave yourself and I'll put you back in the plushie doll."

Shane put the pill back in the lion, bringing it back to life. Kon jumped up and started spattering.

"Ew, yuck, gross, disgusting," he said, spitting and wiping his mouth. "I can't believe you just did that!" Kon turned around to face Shane, fire burning in his black plastic eyes.

"I hate when Ichigo does that, but you are just unforgivable!" Kon shouted. He marched right up to Shane and pointed a paw up at him. "Consider yourself lucky," Kon warned. "If I were any bigger, I'd kick your sorry a-"

"Well, that's enough of that," Shane interrupted Kon and laid back in the grass. Kon was too stunned to speak. When he finally regained his composure, Kon made an unfriendly gesture at Shane and stormed back to Rukia's backpack and hopped in. Kon muttered something under his breath and disappeared from sight. Rukia quickly closed the zipper.


	11. The Pain in Ichigo's Heart

"You're as bad as Ichigo," she scolded. Shane simply smiled. He stared at the clouds and basked in the sunny afternoon. Just then, his phone started to beep. Shane sighed and dug in his pocket.

"It's a Hollow," he said. He sat up on one arm and looked to Rukia. She was lost in thought about something. Shane decided not to disturb her and he quietly left. He left his faux body behind a tree and jumped off to find the hollow. Shane noticed the signal was coming from a different part of the cemetery. He landed in the grass and saw the spirits of a young boy and elderly man. They were desperately trying to escape the Hollow that was chasing them. Shane let the man and boy run past, then stepped in front of the hollow.

"Eh? What's this?" the hollow asked. It looked at Shane and cocked its head to the side.

"You are wearing shinigami clothes, but you don't smell like a shinigami," the hollow said. It took another sniff and added, "But your spirit power does smell delicious."

Shane frowned. "What do you mean, I smell different?" he asked the hollow. "I'm as much a Death God as the next Death God."

"Perhaps," the Hollow agreed, "but there is something different about you than other shinigami I have come across."

"Whatever," Shane said. He pulled his Soul Slayer from his sash and held it in front of him. "Let's just get this over with, okay,?"

The hollow narrowed its glowing yellow eyes. "Oh?"

Within the next few heart beats, Shane had closed the distance to the hollow, slashed it with his Soul Slayer, and replaced his Soul Slayer back in his sash. The hollow disappeared without moving.

Shane performed a Soul Burial on the two spirits that were running from the hollow and he made his way back to his body. When Shane emerged from the trees, he was once again in his faux body, but Rukia was nowhere to be seen. Just then, Shane heard a loud CRASH somewhere in the distance. He ran to find what had caused the noise. While he was running, he felt an enormous surge of spirit power. Shane staggered to a halt.

"Whoa," he gasped, and spent a few moments to catch his breath. "This must be Ichigo's enormous spirit power." Shane stood up and thought quickly. "Ichigo must be in trouble if his spirit power increased that much that fast." Shane took off running again and found himself running through the heart of the cemetery.

When he got closer, Shane could see Ichigo fighting a large hollow that looked something like a hamster with a skull mask and pink feet. Rukia was trying her best to help, but she was of no use. Shane once again changed to shinigami form and hid his body in a shelter.

"Rukia!" he called out. Rukia quickly turned around to see Shane running toward her.

"Where were you?" she shouted. She was bruised and clearly distraught.

"What's happening?" Shane shouted back. Rukia glared at him and filled him in on the situation. "Ichigo and I were talking in the forest when we heard a scream. My phone alarm rang and we figured a hollow had attacked Ichigo's sisters. When we arrived, that hollow had his sisters trapped and was about to eat one of them. Ichigo freed his sisters and Kon took them to a safe place," she said.

Shane took a closer look at the hollow. "That particular hollow seems familiar somehow," he said.

"It's the Grand Fisher," Rukia said. Shane's eyes widened in surprise. "The Grand Fisher?" he asked. Rukia nodded her head. "We've been after this hollow for many years," she said.

"I've heard of him, but this is the first time I've ever seen him," Shane added. Ichigo was trying his best, but the Grand Fisher was too much for him. Shane watched as Ichigo was thrown around, beaten and bloodied. But every time, Ichigo wearily climbed to his feet and continued to face the hollow.

"You got guts boy, I'll give you that," the hollow said, "But you are still a thousand years too young to go up against me!"

"I'll grind you to dust!" Ichigo shouted and charged the hollow. The Grand Fisher smiled held out a closed hand. When he opened his hand, Ichigo stopped and stared. In front of the Grand Fisher was a young child with short dark hair and pale skin. It was wearing a white robe with black trim and the child had a weird smile on its face.

"Wh-what are you doing with that hollow?" Ichigo asked the child. Shane sensed Ichigo knew this child from his past. Just then the child's head started to split down the middle and a pink tentacle appeared out of the top of its head. The tentacle sprang up into the air and connected itself to the Grand Fisher's forehead. The child's skin continued to split down the middle, revealing a faceless doll-looking lure.

"You like my lure?" the Grand Fisher laughed. "This is how I get my prey. I find people with high spiritual power and lure them to me with this."

"You disgust me," Rukia said, her voice dripping with contempt.

"Oh?" the hollow noted. "Not one but two shinigami!" The Grand Fisher became excited. "I can't remember the last time I ate a Death God, but I remember that it tasted so good! Once you have eaten a Death God's soul, nothing else can compare."

"Heh," Ichigo scoffed. "You forget something," he said to the hollow.

"Oh? What's that?" the Grand Fisher asked.

"We're not dead yet," Ichigo replied and raised his Soul Slayer.

"Ichigo wait!" Rukia called out, but Ichigo had run after the hollow.

By now, the day had grown late and a steady rain began to fall. Ichigo ran after the hollow with Rukia and Shane close behind. Ichigo finally caught up to the Grand Fisher and they resumed thier battle in a large open field. Ichigo was still trying his best, but the hollow was still beating him up.

"Shane, go help Ichigo," Rukia commanded. Shane took a step forward.

"NO!" Ichigo shouted. "Stay back. This is my fight!"

"Idiot!" Rukia screamed, "he's too strong for you! You'll die on your own!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo replied. Rukia suddenly grew quiet. "This hollow attacked my family and tried to kill my sisters. I have to beat this guy and protect them!"

"Ichigo..." Rukia whispered.

Shane felt a warm feeling spread across his body, despite the rain. Shane closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Shane," a voice commanded.

Shane opened his eyes to find that everything had faded out and time seemed to have stopped. A shadowy figure approached Shane and was revealed to be Tsukuyomi.

"What is it?" Shane asked.

Tsukuyomi looked in Ichigo's direction. "Although that boy is still a human, his spirit power is unnaturally high. We should not interfere with this fight," Tsukuyomi said.

"Are you sure?" Shane asked.

Tsukuyomi nodded. "That boy is capable of great things. When the time is right, you will see," Tsukuyomi said, then faded away. The color returned and time resumed its normal pace. Rukia stepped forward, but Shane held her back.

"Ichigo will be fine," he told her.

"But-" Rukia started. Shane cut her off. "Ichigo isn't fighting because he wants to, but because he has to," he said. Rukia remained silent and Shane continued. "The Grand Fisher attacked his family, those Ichigo holds dear. Ichigo is fighting to protect them and also his pride."

"Pride?" Rukia asked. Shane could see the lost look in her eyes. Shane thought for a moment, then spoke again. "I wasn't there when it happened, but I've heard what happened Captain Ukitake's lieutenant." Rukia gasped, and Shane nodded. "Although the time is different, I believe the circumstances are similar. Right now, the only thing we can do is believe that Ichigo will win."

Rukia bowed her head and shivered, not from the cold rain, but from a cold memory. Shane put his arm around her to try and comfort her.

"You are right," Rukia said quietly. "It's best if we stay here and let Ichigo fight on his own."


	12. ReadyFight!

Just then, Shane's phone went off. He dug it out of his pocket and looked. "A hollow at this time?" he asked incredulously. He smacked himself on the head and sighed. "Always at the worst possible moment." He turned to Rukia. "Will you be okay here?" he asked. Rukia nodded her head and Shane took off. "Can this day possibly get any worse?" she asked herself.

Shane didn't need to follow his Hollow Tracker because he could feel the hugeness of the hollow's spirit power.

"This is rare indeed," he thought to himself as he ran through the rain. He came to a small clearing and stopped. No doubt about it, this is where the spirit power was the strongest. Shane squinted his eyes and tried to locate the hollow in the mist.

"You finally decided to show up," someone said. Shane recognized the voice and watched as a mysterious figure appeared in the haze. As it walked closer, things became clear.

"What are you doing Akuma?" Shane asked. He glanced around for any more surprises.

"My oh my," Akuma sighed. She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "It took you long enough to get here," she said, "If I had turned up my spirit power output any more, I really would have attracted unwanted attention."

"What do you want?" Shane asked. He hadn't lowered his guard since Akuma appeared. "I was kinda busy when you called,"

"Oh?" Akuma asked. "I fail to see how you could be so busy with your mission when you obviously have time to sit around and talk to Rukia Kuchiki, who is almost overdue by the way." She flashed a smile.

"You really don't have to keep reminding me," Shane replied. They stood about ten feet apart and stared each other down. The tension was thick and the rain didn't help things.

"Well, since there is no hollow and it's just you and me, why don't we have a little sparing match like old times. What do you say?" Akuma asked. She took a step forward and drew her Soul Slayer. Shane took a step back and raise his arms in defense. Akuma took note of this. "Aren't you going to draw your Soul Slayer?" she asked. "Or are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Shane said. "We aren't authorized to draw our Soul Slayers in the real world unless dispatching souls or Hollows."

"Pshhh," Akuma hissed. "I see you still follow the rules by the book. Where's the fun in that?"

"I'm not here to have fun, I'm here to work," Shane said. _Where is she going with this?_ he thought. _I hope Rukia and Ichigo are okay._

Akuma began to circle Shane. He stayed on guard and didn't let her out of his sight.

"Well, if you aren't going to do anything, then I will!" Akuma said and charged. Shane quickly pulled his Soul Slayer in a reverse grip (meaning the blade was pointing down instead of up) and blocked Akuma's blow.

"Wonderful!" Akuma said with glee. "It's been too long since I've seen the twin blades Tsukuyomi! Izanami is pleased as well," she added, meaning her Soul Slayer.

Shane pushed her away and Akuma landed a few feet away. Akuma twirled her long bladed Soul Slayer around in her hand. "It's just like old times!" she cried and charged again.

Shane worked the twin blades of Tsukuyomi in perfect harmony, parrying Akuma's attacks. He let himself to be pushed back by Akuma's increasingly vicious blows, but she never got through his defense. Akuma simply grinned and enjoyed herself all the more. "Your defense is infuriating!" she yelled. "I love a challenge!"

Shane suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He pushed Akuma away and staggered back a few steps. He reached down, expecting to feel a deep wound. He looked down in surprise when he felt nothing. _Was that feeling just now from her bloodlust?_ Shane asked himself.

"What's wrong?" Akuma jeered. "Are you going to wuss out now? We were just getting started."

"I've been meaning to ask you a question," Shane said, stalling for time. "Why were you sent to Squad Five instead of Squad Eleven? You are so like Captain Zaraki, it's scary."

"What, you think all I can do is fight?" Akuma asked. She crossed her arms and pouted. "I've also got a sharp brain to go with this sharp sword," she said, tapping herself in the head. "Don't you remember? I scored higher on the entrance exam than you or Olivia."

"Then, what are you doing here this time?" Shane asked.

"Like I said before, I'm here on orders from Captain Aizen," Akuma said. Shane raised an eyebrow. "You mean he specifically ordered you here to fight me?" he asked.

"Idiot! Of course not!" Akuma said, shaking her head. "You've certainly become dumber than the last time I saw you," she said. "Must have been all those beatings you took while in the Secret Mobile Corps."

Shane thought quickly. _Is she really here on orders, or is she simply harassing me, and if so, why?_ Shane was lost in thought, he almost didn't block Akuma's swing at his head.

"Hey stupid, if you don't keep your head in the game, you won't have a head to keep," Akuma mocked him. She pressed in close so her face was inches away from his. "I've got something to show you," she whispered. Shane's eyes grew wide as she pushed him away. Shane landed and slid back a few feet in the wet grass.

"Here's something I bet you haven't forgotten," Akuma said excitedly. She took a stance and held her Soul Slayer in front of her.

Shane realized too late what Akuma was about to do. "Don't do it," he warned.

"Reap their souls, Izanami!" Akuma said the command phrase and released her Soul Slayer.

Shane shielded his eyes from the flash of light and dirt and water that was kicked up from the sudden release of spirit power. When he looked again, he saw Akuma holding a wooden staff about 18 inches long. At one end was a long, curved blade. It looked like a small scythe.

"This is Inazami's Inital Release," Akuma explained. Shane stood motionless as he took in the sight. Akuma frowned. "Aren't you going to release your Soul Slayer?" she asked.

Shane felt the faint increase of another spirit power. As it grew stronger, Shane sheathed his Soul Slayer and kneeled in the wet grass.

"What are you doing?" Akuma asked, walking forward. Suddenly, a person appeared between Shane and Akuma. She was short, and had her hair pulled back in a bun that she had wrapped in a hair cloth. She wore a standard Death God uniform and had a wooden badge wrapped around her left arm.

"Sheath your Soul Slayer, Akuma Izu," Fifth Squad Lieutenant Momo Hinamori ordered. Akuma glared at Shane, then shrugged. Her Soul Slayer returned to its normal shape and Akuma put it back in her sash.

"You are to report back to Soul Society immediately," Lieutenant Hinamori said with a stern voice. "The release of your Soul Slayer was not authorized. Captain Aizen wants to speak with you," she added.

"Very well," Akuma said and turned to leave. "Just remember what I said before," she called back over her shoulder, then disappeared.

When Akuma was gone, Lieutenant Hinamori turned to Shane and bowed. "I apologize for that," she said. "Akuma has been increasingly difficult lately. I wonder what has gotten into her?"

"Thank you, Lieutenant Hinamori," Shane bowed. Hinamori turned and disappeared back to Soul Society. Shane sat and thought for a moment. _What was that all about? Did Akuma really lure me out just to fight? For what purpose? What does she mean by 'something big is going down'? My head hurts._ Shane sighed and rubbed his head.


	13. Aftermath

By now the rain had stopped and Shane suddenly remembered Ichigo and Rukia. He hurried back to where they were and found Ichigo laying in the grass with Rukia standing over him. He was bruised and had a nasty puncture wound in his shoulder.

"What happened?" Shane asked. Rukia looked up to Shane and Ichigo just lay there.

"Did he win?" Shane asked. Rukia shook her head. "It was more like a draw," she said. Shane kneeled next to Ichigo, who had a far-away look in his eye.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked. Ichigo looked at Shane. "Yeah, I think so," he said slowly.

Shane looked at Ichigo's shoulder. "Your wound isn't as bad as it looks. Rukia will have you healed in no time," Shane said, standing up.

"Thanks," Ichigo said.

"For what?" Shane asked. He turned back to the injured Ichigo.

"For letting me fight that hollow on my own," Ichigo said. "I had to do it to protect my family and avenge my mom for what that hollow did." Shane said nothing. "When I was younger, my dad said my name means 'one who protects,'" Ichigo went on, "I decided that I wanted to protect my mom. That day she died, she was the one protecting me." Tears formed in Ichigo's eyes. "She died protecting me. I was the one supposed to do the protecting, but I got protected instead. I felt like it was my fault she died, that I was the one responsible for taking away the one thing that held my family together." Ichigo closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before continuing.

"When I was fighting that hollow, I saw my mom," Ichigo said. Shane's eyebrow rose as he took note of this. "She said she was proud of me. She said she doesn't blame me for what happened."

"The Grand Fisher used a lure that looked like Ichigo's mother," Rukia whispered in Shane's ear. "His mother's dying wish must have somehow been released through the lure and that's what he's talking about."

Shane kneeled down and put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "You are one of the strongest people I have ever known," he said. "But you have the rest of your family, don't you? Keep them close to you and do everything in your power to protect them. I think that is what your mother would want for you to do right now."

Ichigo closed his eyes and Shane stood up. Rukia looked around and noted the darkening sky. "It's getting late. We should get you healed up and back to your body. Your family is probably wondering where you are," she said.

While Ruka was healing Ichigo, Shane retrieved his Faux Body and stood next to her. "I can take care of this," Rukia said. "Thanks for your help today, and not just for the hollow,"

"Don't mention it," Shane smiled and left.

"What were you talking about?" Ichigo asked when Shane was gone.

"Don't worry about it," Rukia said. "We were discussing Death God business."

"But I'm a Death God too," Ichigo protested, "I deserve to know!"

"Idiot! Stay still!" Rukia scolded him. "What you deserve is a kick in the head if you don't let me heal you. Besides, you're still a human. You don't need to know the details of our work."

"Yes I do!" Ichigo persisted, "If I'm supposed to do your work for you, how can I do that if you won't let me in on what's going on!"

Shane heard them arguing and smiled.

A couple days later, the whole school was abuzz with excitement. It seemed that Don Kanonji, the famous medium, would be coming to Karakura Town to film an episode of his weekly television show. Shane had no idea what it was, nor did he care, but everyone else seemed to think it was a big deal.

"What's this all about?" he asked Ichigo. Ichigo shrugged. "Don Kanonji just an entertainer who claims he can see spirits. If he saw half the things I've seen since becoming a Death God, he'd probably hang up his cape and call it quits."

"But why is he so popular?" Shane asked.

"He's an entertainer," Ichigo said, "He gives the people what they want to see and hear and they worship him. A lot of people like him, including my dad, but I'm not a big fan."

"I see," Shane said. He found Rukia and discussed it with her. "Do you really think this Kanonji guy can really see spirits?" he asked her.

"Perhaps," Rukia said. "I think we should check it out, just in case things get out of hand."

The day of shooting arrived and all everyone could talk about was the show. "Hey, we're all going to see the show. Want to come along?" Tatsuki asked Shane.

"Um, okay. It might be fun," Shane agreed. Tatsuki leaned in and whispered. "I'm not a big fan, but I'm going just because Orihime and some other people are going."

"Do you know where it's going to be?" Shane asked. Tatsuki nodded her head. "They say the show will be filmed at the old abandoned hospital. Supposedly, that place is haunted."

Shane perked up when Tatsuki said the hospital was haunted. _Probably a soul that hasn't been sent to Soul Society,_ he thought.

That evening, Shane made his way toward the abandoned hospital. He had never been there before and had no idea where it was, but it wasn't hard to find. He simply followed the crowds. When he finally arrived at the hospital, Shane couldn't believe how many people had shown up. "I think all of Karakura Town is here," he thought out loud.

Shane stood there and wondered how he was going to find anyone. His problem was solved when he saw Tatsuki waving to him. "I see you decided to come," she said with a smile.

"I figured if everyone was coming, I might as well see what all the fuss is about," Shane said. He looked around and saw Rukai and Ichigo, along with Ichigo's family. Shane waved them over.

"This seems really exciting!" Rukia said. Ichigo rolled his eyes in annoyance. Shane glanced behind Ichigo and saw Ichigo's father goofing off and acting foolish.

"Is your father always like that?" Shane asked. Ichigo nodded his head. "Most of the time," he said.

Off in the distance, a man with a microphone gave directions to the crowd and everyone started moving. Shane, Ichigo and Rukia found themselves near the front of the line. "If they say this place is haunted, do you think it could be someone's spirit?" Ichigo asked.

The man with the microphone spoke again and the crowd began to cheer. The tension began to build and the crowd was whipped up to a frenzy. Just then, a plane flew overhead and a dark figure jumped out, deploying a parachute. He landed in a cloud of smoke and flashing lights. Then a figure wearing an outlandish outfit, complete with hat and dark glasses, threw back his cape and shrieked at the top of his lungs, "Spirits are always with YYYYOOOOOUUUUUU!"

Don Kanonji had arrived.


	14. Hi Mom, We're On TV!

The crowd went wild while Shane stood there with a stupid look on his face and his left eyebrow twitched. "That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen," he managed to say.

"But it sure was exciting, wasn't it?" Rukia said. Shane looked down at Rukia and saw she was amazed at the flashing lights and flamboyant showmanship. Her eyes were wide and a huge grin was spread across her face.

"Simple pleasures for simple minds," Shane said and patted Rukia on the head. Rukia became serious and jumped up and hit Shane in the back of the head. "Idiot!" she said.

Shane rubbed the back of his head and scowled. "Um, hello?" Ichigo managed to say. Rukia and Shane turned to stare at him. "What about the haunted hospital?"

"Sometimes when people die, their souls don't move on because they are somehow tied to this world," Rukia explained.

"If that's the case, then perhaps this soul has a specific reason for being chained to this hospital," Shane added.

Rukia looked at the old hospital and thought for a moment. "As long as no one approaches the hospital, the spirit won't cause trouble.

As if by karma, bad luck, or something else, a camera man tripped on a wire and stumbled. He managed to catch himself, but the camera he was carrying fell to the ground. Just then, an piercing wail sounded in the night sky.

Shane, Ichigo and Rukia stiffened. Shane looked around and saw that Tatsuki and Orihime looked uneasy. Ichigo's sister Karin glanced around and even Chad was disturbed. _Oh, my,_ Shane thought.

Ichigo looked closer and saw the spirit appear. He was a young man, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, and a chain was wrapped around his body and tied to the front door of the hospital.

"Who are you?" the spirit shrieked. "What do you want with my hospital?" Don Kanonji approached the spirit and looked it over, stroking his chin.

"Do you think he can really see that spirit?" Ichigo asked.

"It doesn't matter," Rukia said. "After this is over, we'll perform a Soul Burial on the soul."

"Won't it change into a hollow?" Ichigo asked.

"See the chain on its chest?" Shane asked and pointed. Ichigo looked to where Shane was pointing. "As long as the chain stays intact, the spirit won't become a hollow."

As soon as the words left Shane's mouth, Don Kanonji took his staff and jabbed the spirit in the chest and attempted to dislodge the chain. The spirit cried out in pain and Rukia and Shane rushed forward with Ichigo following behind.

"Hey, stop that you idiot!" Rukia called out. Her outburst had created a commotion and attracted the attention of security. While Shane, Rukia and Ichigo, pushed through the crowd, Don Kanoji had succeeded in separating the chain from the spirit's chest. The sprit cried out and disappeared in a flash of blue particles.

"Oh this is bad," Shane said. He struggled to get through the crowd and managed to get separated from Rukia and Ichigo. He made his way to the front of the crowd just in time to see Rukia and Ichigo get jumped by security. Shane heard the cry of a hollow and looked to the roof and saw a green, frog like hollow with a large triangular shaped mask.

"This is very bad," Shane said to himself.

The commotion caused by Rukia, Ichigo and the security guards had whipped the crowd into a frenzy. People began to push forward and Shane felt himself being pushed back by the crowd. Shane growled and pushed his way past the throngs of people.

"Shane! Where are you going?" Tatsuki called out. Shane looked high and low for Tatasuki, but he couldn't see her.

"Ichigo, Rukia and I got separated!" Shane called back. He saw an arm waving in the air, then Tatsuki appeared head and shoulders above the crowd. She wore a look of surprise on her face. Shane pushed through the people to where he had seen Tatsuki.

Shane stumbled out of the crowd and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He glanced up and saw that Chad had picked Tatsuki up and put her on his shoulders.

"What happened to Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked from her perch. Shane shrugged. "We got separated. Did you see anything?"

"Yeah, I saw what happened!" Tatsuki said, becoming angry. "That idiot started yelling and tried to attack Don Kanoji. It's a good thing that security was there to stop him."

"But I thought Ichigo said he didn't like Don Kanoji," Orihime added. Tatsuki crossed her arms and frowned. "You think you know a guy," she said.

Shane looked back to the hospital and saw Ichigo and the hollow were fighting on the roof. It seemed that Don Kanonji was trying to help as well. Shane looked around and decided he didn't need to get involved with the hollow. There was a loud crash and smoke drifted though the air. The crowd began to cry out and the announcer was yelling excitedly over his microphone. Shane shook his head and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Orihime asked. Shane stared out of the corner of his eye. A look of concern was on Orihime's face.

"Nothing. I was just thinking of back home in America," Shane lied. He immediately felt guilty. _How much longer can I keep lying to them and myself? They are all good people, but they are all human and I'm a Death God. Why did this mission have to get so complicated?_ Shane wondered.

"I know what will make you feel better!" Orihime suddenly cried out. Shane blinked at her sudden outburst. Orihime smiled and giggled nervously. "When this is over, why don't we all go back to my house for desert and treats and stuff?" Shane noticed Tatsuki's pained expression and Chad swallowed.

"Uh, not tonight, okay? Perhaps some other time," Shane said. Orihime's grin faded and her face fell. "But don't worry," Shane assured her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I think you are a wonderful cook."

Orihime's face lit up again. "You really think so?" she asked. Shane smiled and nodded.

Shane looked back to the hospital. Nothing was happening, so Shane figured the fight was over. Then there was a faint blue glow and tiny particles floated away in the air. A dark figure walked to the edge of the roof and the spotlights trained in, revealing a disheveled-looking Don Kanonji. He raised his arms and the crowd went wild. A faint grin crossed Shane's face.


	15. Overconfidence Will Be Your Downfall

Shane waited until the crowds had left. Finally Rukia and Ichigo, still a Death God, emerged from the entrance of the hospital.

"How'd it go?" Shane asked. Ichigo scowled furiously and mumbled under his breath.

"It was a bit difficult at first, but everything came out okay in the end," Rukia said eyeing Ichigo, who mumbled again and crossed his arms.

"What was that?" Shane asked. He stepped forward to confront Ichigo. "If you have something to say, say it."

Ichigo glared at Shane, who stared right back. Finally Ichigo said, "You know, if you aren't going to help me and Rukia out with this Death God business, why don't you just leave? Isn't there something else you could be doing?"

"What are you saying?" Shane asked. He took a step back and Ichigo considered this a small victory.

"I'm saying we don't need your help," Ichigo said. He seemed pleased with himself that he was telling off a Death God.

"Really," Shane said flatly. Ichigo nodded his head. "Then what do you suggest I do?" Shane asked.

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't care what you do. It's none of my business," he said.

Shane shrugged and swallowed a piece of Soul Candy. His faux body fell at his feet. "In that case," Shane said, drawing his Soul Slayer, "I'll just kill you and take Rukia back to Soul Society to stand trial."

Ichigo's eyes went wide and his face grew pale. "What did you say?" he asked.

"Shane-" Rukia started, but Shane cut her off. "For the crime of giving her Death God powers to a human, Rukia will be given the death penalty, a month from her trial date," Shane said. His voice was stern and his eyes were hard and cold.

Ichigo recovered from his initial shock and became angry. "Just try it," he said and pulled his Soul Slayer from the sheath on his back, "You lay one finger on Rukia and I'll cut you to ribbons."

"You want to challenge me with that thing?" Shane said, pointing to Ichigo's sword. He began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo shouted. He glanced at Shane's twin swords and said, "I should be saying the same thing to you. Just look at the size of my Soul Slayer compared to your little swords. I'd carve you in half with one blow."

"Oh really?" Shane said, wiping his eyes. "You should consider becoming a comedian because you're really funny."

"I'm totally serious here!" Ichigo shouted. Shane stopped laughing and became serous again. "What do you know about your Soul Slayer there?" he asked.

Ichigo scratched his head, wondering where Shane was going with this. "Um, I guess the size of a Soul Slayer depends on the size of a Death God's spiritual power. Judging by the size of this thing, I must have a lot of spirit power." Ichigo looked back to Shane's Soul Slayer and added, "Then this must mean your spirit power isn't as high as mine."

"Is that what you think?" Shane asked and Ichigo nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, Shane could see Rukia sigh and shake her head. Shane then turned his attention back to Ichigo. "Let me ask you this. Do you know your Soul Slayer's name?" Shane asked.

This grabbed Rukia's attention and Ichigo looked confused. "What do you mean its name?" he asked. Ichigo looked down at the sword in his hand. "Do you just give it a name, or does it say in the User's Manual for this thing?"

Shane shook his head. "If you don't know your Soul Slayer's name, then you have no business challenging me." Shane stepped forward and got right in Ichigo's face. "Rukia's mission was to kill hollows and send lost souls to Soul Society. Since she gave that power to you, now you have to do her job for her. My job, was to watch Rukia and make reports on her progress to our superiors. Besides, if I do all the work, how will you learn to be a Death God? I've already told you this, and this is the last time I'm going to say it."

"Whoa, just calm down," Ichigo said, stepping back. "It's just, I don't understand why you're here if you won't help me and Rukia."

Shane threw his hands in the air. "You really are hopeless, you know that?" he said. Shane looked at the night sky and said, "It's getting late. You should go home to your family. I'm sure they are worried about you."

Ichigo's face had confusion written all over it. Shane merged back with his faux body and left. "What just happened?" he asked.

"I'm not sure either," Rukia said. Shane's words had disturbed her greatly and she began to think hard.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ichigo asked, noticing Rukia's brow twisted in thought. "It's nothing," she said, waving him off. "Let's get back to your house."

A few weeks later, the class rankings were posted on a bulletin board outside the classroom door. Everyone was gathered around, trying to see the results.

"Wow Orihime!" Tatsuki said in amazement and patted Orihime on the head. "Third place! That's really great!" Orihime simply grinned. Shane was quite impressed with Orihime's achievement. He leaned in to look closer and wasn't surprised to see that Uryuu Ishida was number one.

"Humph. I should have guessed," Shane said to himself. Out of idle curiosity, Shane checked the rest of the list for his name. His eyebrows rose in surprise.

"How did you do Shane?" Tatsuki asked. Shane looked to his right and saw that Tatsuki had sneaked up next to him and was leaning forward to look at the list. "Wow," she whistled, "Seventeenth is really impressive for someone who just got here."

Shane looked down the list looking for another particular name. He found it, several places above the bottom of the list. "Jeez, Rukia," he whispered, "302 out of 322? I thought you were smarter than that."

"What's wrong?" Tatsuki asked. She gave Shane a questioning glance. "Um, nothing, I just thought of something, that's all," Shane said. Tatsuki scowled, not believing him.

"Why is Orihime so smart?" Shane quickly asked, "She seems like such a klutz."

Tatsuki sighed and put her hands on her hips. "I don't understand it either," she said. "I guess that's all she does is study. That's why I have to look out for her. She has next to no common sense at all." Shane stroked his chin and nodded. Keigo and another of Ichigo's friends arrived to check the rankings. Keigo began to brag about not being in the top fifty and how none of their group would make the top fifty.

"Check again," Ichigo pointed. Keigo looked to where Ichigo was pointing and gasped. "Twenty-third?" he shrieked. "But how could you betray us like that?"

"Well, since I have nothing better to do, I go home a study," Ichigo explained simply. "Plus, because of my hair color, the teachers don't expect me to do very well. I work hard to prove them and everyone else wrong about me."

"No way! I've invited you to hang out lots of times and you blew me off!" Keigo shouted. He turned to Chad and pleaded, "You didn't betray us, did you Chad?"

Chad said nothing and pointed. "How can you place so high?" Keigo squealed. He made a big show of being hurt and ran off. "Fine!" he shouted from half way down the hall, "I'll just forget I even know you! Don't bother coming to hang out either!" Keigo made a silly face and slapped his butt a couple of times and ran off.

Shane watched the exchange with a stupid look on his face. "Is that normal?" he asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Keigo can be overly dramatic sometimes," he said. "In a few days, he'll forget all about this."

Shane stood back and watched the other students hang around and check the scores. He sighed and shook his head. Rukia glanced behind her to where Shane was standing and they locked stares for a moment. They were both thinking the same thing:

"I really don't belong here."


	16. You See, It All Started When

After school, Shane and Tatsuki were taking a break from Martial Arts Club. Tatsuki was sipping water and staring off into space, while Shane sat against the wall. He heard two voices talking and saw two spirits, a man and woman, talking and giggling. The man was trying his best to woo the lady. Tatsuki closed her eyes and grumbled under her breath. Shane shot her a quick glance. "What was that?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, nothing," Tatsuki replied. Shane narrowed his eyes, then turned away.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime called out. Shane looked up and saw Orihime walk up to Tatsuki. She blinked and saw Shane sitting there. "Hello, Akiyama-kun!" she said.

"Please, just call me Shane," he replied. Orihime started talking to Tatsuki when another male spirit appeared. He started making funny faces at Tatsuki and waving his butt in her face. Tatsuki's face twisted with anger, and when she couldn't stand it anymore, she exploded. "Get outta here!" she yelled.

Orihime became startled at Tatsuki's outburst and Shane's eyes went wide for a different reason.

"Oh, I didn't mean you Orihime," Tatsuki soothed. While they were talking, Shane was thinking hard.

 _Tatsuki wasn't yelling at Orihime, so does that mean she could see that annoying spirit?_ Shane thought. _But how? Tatsuki doesn't have any spirit power of her own, does she? Unless, her encounter with Ichigo's ridiculous spirit power somehow affected her. I wonder if..._

While Shane was thinking, Orihime had disappeared and returned with three bowls of ice cream. "Would you like some ice cream?" she asked, jerking Shane back to reality.

"Um, sure, thank you," he said and took the bowl from Orihime. They all sat down and ate their ice cream. Orihime ate hers quickly.

"Hey slow down or you'll get a brain freeze," Tatsuki warned. As if on cue, Orihime grimmaced and grabbed her head. "Ohh," she moaned.

"Hey, why do you like Ichigo so much?" Shane suddenly asked. Upon hearing Ichigo's name, Orihime brightened up. "Well, you know how he always keeps his face twisted up like this," she said and demonstrated for Tatsuki and Shane. "But if you look real close, he really has a funny face." Orihime started to giggle and Tatsuki and Shane looked confused. Seeing this, Orihime started to rapidly eat her ice cream again, only to be rewarded with another brain freeze.

Just then, there was an explosion. The ground shook and windows shattered. Shane jumped up and scanned the area for a Hollow. Another of Orihime's friends, a girl with short red hair and horn rimmed glasses ran up to see what was happening.

"What's going on?" Orihime asked. Tatsuki scowled and looked around. Shane didn't see anything, but he was still suspicious.

"Hey! You students over there!" a teacher called out, "Clean up those broken windows." The four of them complained, but the teacher didn't budge, so they all reluctantly went to get brooms and dust pans.

"Man!" the girl with red hair exasperated, "Why do we have to clean this mess up? All we did was come to see what was going on,"

Shane said nothing and held the dust pan for Tatsuki. He glanced around and saw Orihime standing by herself, staring off into space.

"Orihime? What's wrong?" the red head asked. "You look so cute when you're worried," she added and puckered her lips. Out of nowhere, Tatsuki hit the girl in the head. "Stupid! What do you think you are doing?" she shouted.

While Tatsuki was arguing with the girl, Shane carefully walked up to Orihime and cast his gaze where she was looking. To Orihime, it looked like a strange shadow, but Shane could see the Hollow clearly. It was sitting on top of a building and it looked like a purple blob with many short tentacles. It's head and mask were the same shape as its body, only white in color. On its mask were little bumps. He could see it grinning.

Shane's lip raised in a scowl. _I can't really do anything with all these people around,_ Shane thought. Orihime grabbed him by the arm and led him toward the others.

"What are you doing?" Shane asked. Orihime grinned sheepishly and pushed Tatsuki and the red headed girl to the door. "Let's all go to my house and watch T.V. or something," Orihime said quickly.

"W-Wait, Orihime," Tatsuki protested. Shane saw Orihime take a quick glance behind her at the Hollow.

 _She's trying to protect us,_ Shane thought. _Was Orihime also touched by Ichigo's spirit power? Is that why she can see the Hollow?_

Tatsuki twisted away from Orihime. "I have to go change, so I'll catch up to you later, okay?" she called out as she ran back to the school.

"Hey, I have to change too," Shane added quickly and also ran off. He ducked into the boy's locker room and swallowed a piece of Soul Candy. Shane's Faux Body fell on the floor.

"I'd better hurry," Shane said and sprinted back out the door. Before he took two steps, there was another explosion. Shane used flash steps to move even faster. Within moments, he was outside. The Hollow was now between Orihime and the door. Shane jumped to the top of the building to get a better view. From there, he could see that the Hollow had knocked out the red haired girl and was threatening Orihime. A group of students appeared and walked toward Orihime. But there was something not right. The students were walking slowly and had strange green spots on their bodies.

Just as the group of zombiefied students were about to grab Orihime, Tatsuki came flying in from nowhere and began to beat them off. Shane was quite impressed.

"Hey you piece of trash!" Tatsuki yelled at the hollow, "You picked the wrong person to mess with!"

"Oh really?" the hollow laughed.

"Anyone who messes with Orihime, has to go through me first," Tatsuki growled.

"Fine. I'll play with you then," the hollow sneered. Shane watched as the bumps on the hollow's head began to grow, then burst, sending sticky green goo flying at Tatsuki. She winced as they hit her and absorbed into her body.

"See?" the hollow said. "You body now belongs to me. That green goo causes your limbs to ignore the signals sent from your brain, and only respond to my command." The hollow raised a tentacle and caressed Tatsuki on the face. Tatsuki bit the tentacle as hard as she could.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" the hollow screamed, "That hurts! Let go of me!" The hollow used its other tentacles to slap Tatsuki around, but Tatsuki stubbornly held on. Shane could feel his anger rising and he reached for his Soul Slayer.

"Fine!" the hollow shouted. "I'm done with you, now die!" Shane gasped as the hollow suddenly shot numerous green blobs at Tatsuki. The blobs exploded against her body and knocked her down. Orihime watched, unable to move. "Tatsuki-chan," she whispered.

As if controlled by invisible puppet strings, Tatsuki's body stood up in an unnatural way. Her eyes were wide and dilated and her mouth was hanging open, giving her a haunted look. Tatsuki took a couple of steps toward Orihime.

"So, this person is close to you?" the hollow jeered. "I'll just use this person to kill you so I can eat your soul!"

To Shane's surprise, Orihime grabbed Tatsuki and hugged her tightly. "You are always the one protecting me," Orihime whispered, "Now it's my turn to protect you." Orihime buried her face in Tatsuki's neck.

"O-Ori-hime..." Tatsuki gasped.

There was a bright flash of light. Shane shielded his eyes with his arm and a blast of wind caused by the sudden release of spirit power pulled at his clothes. When he could look again, Shane saw Orihime facing the hollow, her hair billowing out in the wind.

"What is this?" the hollow shrieked in surprise.

"Tatsuki said you picked the wrong person to mess with," Orihime said, "But I say you picked the wrong person to hurt." Shane knew it was Orihime's voice, but she spoke with strength and conviction Shane didn't know she had.

The light finally cleared and six fairy looking things were buzzing around Orihime's head. One of them stopped to talk to her. Shane couldn't hear what was being said, but from the look of things, Orihime was quite surprised to have fairies talking to her.

"I don't know what you or those things are, but die now!" the hollow said and shot green goo at Orihime. Three of the fairies formed a shield of translucent yellow light that blocked Orihime from the green goo. Two more fairies formed another shield around Tatsuki and Shane saw that her cuts and bruises were being healed. The third fairy flew at the hollow with tremendous speed, becoming an arrow of yellow light that pierced the hollow and killed it.

"Impossible!" the hollow shrieked as it disappeared. Orihime's eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted. Shane was about to jump to her aid, but he saw a familiar man wearing a green and white striped hat and wooden sandals appear at Orihime's side. Seeing she was in good hands, Shane left.


	17. Ichigo Agreed To The Contest

Shane ran across the tops of the buildings. Everywhere he looked, more and more hollows appeared. He quickly guessed what had happened and silently cursed Ichigo. "Idiot! Why did he take Uryuu up on that stupid challenge?" He saw Rukia running through an alley, so he dropped in on her.

"Where did you come from?" Rukia asked in surprise.

"That's not important," Shane cut her off. "Where's Ichigo? I'm gonna kill him."

"He's doing his best to fight hollows, but he could really use your help," Rukia said. "I'm going to see Urahara and ask him a few questions." Shane scowled and Rukia ran on.

"Well, I guess we're going to be busy for a while Tsukuyomi," Shane sighed. He ran off to find a nice open area. Shane found a vast open field, away from anything important. "I guess this will do," he said, looking around. Shane folded his hands in front of him, closed his eyes and concentrated on turning his spirit power output as high as it would go to attract hollows. From all over town, hollows stopped what they were doing and began to migrate toward the source of the high spirit power.

When Shane opened his eyes, he was surrounded by many hollows. They closed in around him, all screaming and yelling.

"All right then," Shane said, drawing his twin Soul Slayer blades, "Let's get started."

Shane moved like lighting, slashing and cutting at every single hollow that was nearby. But for every hollow he killed, two more took its place. After a long time, Shane put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. Hollows closed in and went to grab him.

"Wait," Shane said, holding up his hand. The hollows stopped. "Just give me a second," he added an took a deep breath. He stood up and dusted himself off.

"Okay, now let me show all you hollows the coolest thing you'll ever see before you die," Shane said. He stabbed both swords in the ground on either side of him and clapped his hands together.

"Tsukuyomi Full Moon Technique!" Shane shouted. His body began to glow a faint silver color and his spiritual power greatly increased. He grabbed his Soul Slayer and began cutting down hollows even faster. It was as if time was moving in slow motion and Shane was the only one moving normally. He ducked under a hollow's outstretched arm and sliced it in half, pivoted on his foot and sliced off another hollow's arm with his left blade while cutting the mask with his right blade.

Shane continued to move at an extreme speed, seemingly everywhere at once. He lost track of how many hollows he had killed and he didn't care. He simply carved them up one after another. After a while, he had defeated all the hollows and was standing in the middle of the field, gasping for breath.

"Wow," Shane breathed, "That was almost harder than I thought it would be." He wiped his face with his sleeve and looked around. The field was now trashed and ripped apart from all the hollows running around trying to kill Shane.

"Oops, sorry," Shane said and jumped away to find more hollows. All of a sudden, a thought hit him like a ton of bricks.

"I should check on Tatsuki!" Shane said. He altered his course and headed back to the school. He arrived at the scene of the earlier battle. Shane took a quick look around and saw nobody. He ran to where Tatsuki had been and kneeled on the ground. He took his phone out and waved it over a spot on the ground. The phone started to beep and a reading appeared on the screen. "Just as I thought," Shane said, "Tatsuki was affected by Ichigo's spirit power." He held his hand over the spot and concentrated. The spot began to glow and spirit threads appeared. Shane opened his eyes and studied the threads. They were all the same, except one of the threads had a thin red line running down the middle. Shane reached out and took hold of that thread.

"This must be the one," he said. All the other threads disappeared, leaving the one Shane was holding. He studied it for a moment and scanned the thread with his phone. The phone beeped, showing a faint trail of spiritual energy. Shane released the thread and it disappeared.

"That must be the way," he said to himself and set out in the direction indicated by his phone. Before he could get very far, he was ambushed by more hollows.

"Oh come on!" Shane exasperated. He pointed an accusing finger at each of the hollows. "You have lousy timing, you know that?" he yelled. "Every time I try to get something done, one of you hollows show up and mess everything up!" The hollows just roared at him.

"Okay, we'll play it that way," Shane replied. He drew his Soul Slayer and twisted his body like a speed skater waiting for the gun. Shane concentrated and focused his spirit power. Like a wound up spring suddenly released, Shane exploded in a whirlwind of movement. The hollows disappeared one after another and with a final downward slash with both blades, the last hollow was gone. Shane stood up and placed his Soul Slayer back in his sash.

"Now, where was I?" he asked himself. He checked his phone and once again, set out. Shane found himself by Urahara's shop and decided to stop by on impulse. He opened the door and found Rukia talking to Urahara.

"Shane!" Rukia said in surprise, "What are you doing here?" Shane shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by."

"Huh? Who are you?" a little boy with red hair popped around a corner. He was holding what appeared to be a small club that resembled a baseball bat.

"Ah, so this is the Shane Akiyama that I keep hearing about," Urahara said. His face was hidden behind a fan and he stared intently at Shane from under his ever present green and white stripped hat. Shane scratched his head and sighed. "Shouldn't you be out with Ichigo, killing hollows and stuff?" he asked.

"Ichigo can handle himself and he'd just ignore whatever I had to say to him," Rukia said.

"Good point," Shane said. Rukia stood and walked out the door. "But I should probably be with him anyway," she said over her shoulder.

Shane turned back to Urahara. "Is there something I can do for you?" Urahara asked. Shane approached where Urahara was sitting and kneeled in front of him. "As a matter of fact, I have been meaning to ask you a question," Shane said, "And I need to pick up more Soul Candy."


	18. Interlude

"Oh?" Urahara said. He folded his fan and put it away. He looked around Shane to the red haired boy. "Jinta, close the shop and leave us for a while. We have important things to discuss," he said. Jinta groaned and reluctantly carried out Urahara's orders.

"Now, what is your question?" Urahara asked when Jinta was gone.

"Well, it's like this," Shane explained. "Hollows can smell the difference in the level of spiritual power, right?"

"Right," Urahara agreed.

"Now, would you say that a Hollow can smell the difference between a normal spirt, a spirit with high spiritual power, and a Death God?" Shane asked.

"I would say that," Urahara said.

"And since I am indeed a Death God, then to a Hollow, I should smell the same as another Death God, right?" Shane asked again.

"I believe so," Urahara said. He cast a sideways glance at Shane. "Where are you going with this?" he asked.

"Every hollow I've ever fought has told me that I have a different smell than any other Death God," Shane said. "Does that make any sense?"

"Hmm. I see," Urahara said. He stroked his chin and thought for a moment. He stood up and indicated that Shane should come with him. Shane rose to his feet and followed Urahara into the back of the store.

"Let me see," Urahara said and started poking around shelves of boxes and various items. Shane looked around and took note of all the different things.

"Ah! Here we are!" Urahara said. He pulled an object out of a dusty old box and showed it to Shane.

"What is it?" Shane asked. The object in question looked like an old Polaroid camera.

"Smile and say cheese!" Urahara said and pressed a button. There was a bright flash and Shane was blinded. When the spots cleared out of Shane's vision, Urahara had pulled out a folding table and had set the camera on it, as well as several pictures.

"Take a look at this," Urahara said. Shane approached the table and looked a the pictures.

"This is a picture of a nomal person's spiritual aura," Urahara said. Shane looked at the picture. The entire picture was black. In the center was the shape of a person, outlined in a faint white aura.

"And this is what a _shinigami's_ aura looks like," Urahara said, handing Shane another picture. The picture was the same, but the outline was red instead of white and extended farther from the body.

"I bet if you took Ichigo's picture with that thing, his aura would fill the picture and break your camera," Shane commented.

"Perhaps," Urahara shrugged. He showed Shane another picture, this one with a blue aura. "Is this a Quincy?" Shane asked. Urahara nodded.

Shane frowned. "But what about my picture?" he asked. Urahara became serious and sat down in a chair. Shane did the same.

"How much do you know about the Bureau of Technology?" Urahara asked. Shane thought for a moment. "Other than the fact that the guy who is in charge is also the Captain of Squad 12 and a complete weirdo, not very much," he admitted.

"Well, you know that as a Death God, one of the tools you have is a faux body, basically, a body with no soul," Urahara said. Shane nodded. "And you know about the Mod Souls, yes?" Urahara added.

"I can think of one in particular," Shane said.

"A long time ago, the Bureau of Technology was trying to combine the faux body and mod soul technology to create bodies with artificial souls," Urahara explained.

"Wait a sec," Shane interjected, "Wasn't that the purpose of the mod souls to begin with?

"You have a point there," Urahara said, "But these would be different than regular mod souls. These souls would be imbedded permanently in the bodies. They would be no different than normal humans or Death Gods."

"What was the point of this?" Shane asked.

"The point was to increase the number of Death Gods," Urahara said. "Despite what you think, souls with enough spirit power to become Death Gods are quite rare indeed. Out of 100 or even 1,000 normal human souls, maybe one has the potential to become a Death God."

"So, someone decided it would be a good idea to just create bodies with high spirit power to increase the number of Death Gods?" Shane said.

Urahara nodded. "The people in charge became quite excited about the possibility of mass producing Death Gods.

"So, obviously something happened," Shane reasoned.

"That is correct," Urahara said. "Even though it sounds simple, the task became quite difficult. Many problems surfaced and people began to question the morality of the project. Ultimately, the project was abandoned."

"What kinds of problems?" Shane asked.

"For instance, some of the bodies became ill, some became mentally unstable, and some just didn't work properly at all, just to name a few. The project was abandoned and all records concerning the project were destroyed," Urahara said.

"And what of the fake Death Gods?" Shane asked, knowing the answer.

"They were gotten rid of," Urahara said simply. "The current head of the Bureau of Technology finally perfected the method, but he only created one."

"What happened to that one body?" Shane asked.

"He made it his Lieutenant in 12th Squad," Urahara said.

Shane thought for a moment, then shook his head vigorously. "Wait, wait," he said. "This is an interesting history lesson, but what does this have to do with me?"

"Oh, nothing," Urahara said, waving his fan. "I thought you'd be interested in a story about Soul Society."

Shane frowned and folded his arms. "That still doesn't explain why hollows think I'm different than other Death Gods," he said.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you about that," Urahara said. Shane sighed and stood up. "Well, I'd better go help Ichigo with the hollows then," he said.

"What's that you say?" Urahara perked up.

"Oh, a Quincy challenged Ichigo to a hollow killing contest and now there are hollows all over the city causing trouble," Shane explained.

"Hmm, I see," Urahara said, stroking his chin. "Well, I won't keep you then," he said and Shane left. When he was gone, Urahara picked up the remaining picture and stared at it.

"I never figured something like this would happen," he said sadly. He sighed and got up from his chair and walked to the front of his store. "Okay everyone, we're heading out," Urahara called out.


	19. And Things Got Out Of Control

Shane left Urahara's store and resumed following Tatsuki's spiritual trail. It ended at a small apartment near the center of town. Being an invisible spirit, Shane walked through the door and into the apartment. It was small, but whoever lived there had worked hard to make it homely. Shane followed the trail up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. He went inside and found Tatsuki laying in the bed.

Shane took a second to look around the room. Everything was neat, organized and clean. Somehow, Shane expected nothing less from Tatsuki. He turned his attention back to the bed and saw Tatsuki was resting peacefully. Shane quietly walked to the side of the bed and bent over to examine Tatsuki. She appeared to be fine with nothing more than a few cuts and bruises. She opened her eyes and looked up at Shane.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Shane took a step back and Tatsuki sat up a little. "Why are you wearing those funny clothes?" she asked frowning.

"I, uh, decided to see what it was like to wear clothes from back in the day," Shane said, thinking quickly.

Tatsuki smiled. "Well, they look good on you."

Shane frowned and decided to take a chance. "Do you remember what happened at the school?" he asked.

"I remember fighting off some students who tried to hurt Orihime," Tatsuki said, "And there was this strange looking octopus thing. It had a white head and it spoke to me. I don't remember much after that."

"I see," Shane said. Behind his back, he pulled out his Memory Modifier. Shane stepped to the edge of the bed. "Hey, what's that over there?" he asked and pointed.

"What?" Tatsuki said and twisted her head around to see where Shane was pointing. "I don't see-"

Shane flashed the Memory Modifier in her face and Tatsuki fell back, a dazed look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry to do this," he said and quickly left.

Shane stepped outside and was immediately buffeted by an intense wave of spirit power.

"This must be Ichigo," Shane thought out loud. He quickly looked around and headed off in the direction of the spirit power source using flash steps. Shane arrived moments later in a park near the edge of town. He saw Rukia and he ran to her. "Hey, what's going on here?" he asked.

"Ichigo and Uryuu teamed up to fight hollows when that appeared," Rukia said and pointed. Shane looked up and gasped.

"A Menos Grande?" he managed to say.

The hollow in question was huge, about as tall as a building and very thin. It wore a purple cloak that covered its head and fell to its ankles. It also had a white mask with a long, pointy nose. Shane could make out two figures running toward it.

"Is that Ichigo?" Shane asked. Rukia nodded. But before she could go anywhere, Urahara appeared and made a quick hand motion. Rukia's eyes went wide as she fell to her knees.

"A binding spell?" Shane said. Urahara gave him a look and Shane put his hands up in defense. "Hey, now, I'm not going anywhere," he said. Urahara turned back to watch. "This is Ichigo's fight. Let's see how strong he really is," he said.

Shane stood there and watched as Ichigo unsuccessfully attacked the Menos. He saw Uryuu scolding Ichigo and imagined what they were saying. There was a sudden flash of blue light. Uryuu had touched Ichigo's Soul Slayer and the enormity of Ichigo's spirit power leaked out, causing Uryuu's bow to grow many times its normal size.

"Wow," Shane gasped. "I knew Ichigo had ridiculous spirit power, but that is just weird." He started to think. _Why does Ichigo have so much spirit power? Better yet, where did he get it from? The only people I know that have this much spirt power are the Captains of the 13 squads, and even then there are only a few of them with this much spirit power. Unless..._

Shane was lost in thought and when he looked again, Ichigo was running recklessly at the Menos. A ball of swirling red energy with a purple aura had formed in front of the large hollow's mouth.

"A cero?" Rukia asked. _Oh man, this is very bad,_ Shane thought. Suddenly, the ball of energy disappeared and the Menos opened its mouth. A beam of intense red energy shot out at tremendous speed. Instinctively, Ichigo brought up his Soul Slayer to block the blast. The energy was so intense, it forced Ichigo to one knee.

The energy from the blast spread out in the form of an intense wind that tore violently at Shane's robes. He put his hand up and squinted his eyes.

"This could be really bad," he said. Just then, he noticed a change in Ichigo's spirit power. As difficult as it sounded, Ichigo's already enormous spirit power seemed to be growing even more!

"Just how much spirit power does this guy have?" Shane thought out loud. _Forget captain level, this is off the charts!_ he thought.

Amazingly, Ichigo began to push back against the cero blast and with a mighty effort, he swung his Soul Slayer with all his might, sending a wave of blue energy streaking up the body of the Menos. The sudden release of Ichigo's spirit power caused another intense wave of wind to ripple and pull at Shane's clothes. The Menos fell back and returned to Hueco Mundo, pulling the fabric of the Real World back together, repairing the hole it had made.

"That guy is amazing," Shane managed to say. His moment of awe was cut short as he realized what this meant. Shane looked down to Rukia and she manage to turn her head toward him.

"You know what this means?" Shane asked. Rukia nodded and Urahara said nothing. Shane turned to leave when another bright light appeared. He quickly turned around and saw the light was emulating from Ichigo's Soul Slayer.

"Because he released his spirit power, his Soul Slayer is using it up!" Rukia said. "Ichigo won't be able to take much more of this!"

Uryuu stepped on Ichigo's Soul Slayer and began shooting arrows into the sky to relieve Ichigo's spirt power. Finally, Ichigo's Soul Slayer returned to its normal shape and Uryuu collapsed to his knees, not from exhaustion, but rather painful memories.

"Well, I guess I'll leave now," Shane said, turning to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that, he took off.


	20. The Plot Thickens

The next day, Shane woke up early. He dressed in the school uniform, gathered his books and started walking to school. A rumbling in his belly made Shane rethink his decision to skip breakfast. Fortunately, he passed a 24-hour food mart. As he stopped to go inside, something caught his eye. It was a black cat walking out from the corner of the building. Shane stopped and stared at the cat. The cat seemed to know Shane was watching, and it turned to look at Shane.

"Hi there," Shane smiled. He bent down and held out his hand. The black cat stared at Shane, as if it was deciding what to do.

Shane took a closer look at the cat and realized it seemed pretty healthy for a stray. "Would you like something to eat?" he asked.

At the mention of food, the cat seemed to perk up. Shane smiled. "Me too. Wait right there and I'll be back in a moment." The cat sat where it was and flicked its tail back and forth.

Shane stepped inside and thought about what to buy. He bought a few pastries and a carton of orange juice for himself and a can of tuna and milk for the cat. On impulse, he also grabbed a PEZ candy dispenser with a rabbit head. Shane went back outside and found the cat sitting patiently. He opened the can of tuna and the carton of milk in front of the cat. The black cat stepped forward and sniffed at the tuna. The cat stared at it, then turned to the milk.

"Oh, I see how it is," Shane said. Shane dashed back into the store and came out with a styrofoam soup bowl. He poured some milk in the bowl and set it in front of the cat. While Shane ate his pastries and drank his juice, the black cat enjoyed its milk.

"I wonder where you came from?" Shane said out loud. He slowly bent over and looked at the cat. The cat looked up from its milk and Shane saw the cat had yellow-gold colored eyes, which he thought were a little odd.

"You have interesting eyes," Shane said, "I've never seen an animal with that color of eyes." The cat seemed to frown at Shane's remarks. "I mean that in a good way," Shane said quickly.

If the cat were a person, it would have shrugged, then it went back to finishing its milk. Shane grinned and slowly reached out to the cat. Finished with its milk, the cat sniffed Shane's hand and Shane rubbed the cat behind the ears. The cat closed its eyes and rubbed its head in Shane's hand.

"I like you," Shane said. "I wish you could talk because I'd like to know where you came from. Were you abandoned or did you run away?" At the mention of running away, the cat stopped and stared Shane in the eye. Shane frowned. "Why did you run away then? Was someone mean to you?" Naturally, the cat said nothing, but swished its tail back and forth.

"I'd like to stay here with you, but I have to get going now," Shane said. He scratched the cat under the chin and rose to his feet. "Perhaps we'll meet again someday," he added and left. The cat watched him leave. "We will certainly meet again," the cat said in a deep, manly voice.

Shane continued to walk to school. He stared up at the clouds and let his mind wander. He heard footsteps and turned to look. It was Tatsuki and Orihime.

"Could we walk to school with you?" Orihime asked. Tatsuki rolled her eyes and Shane could tell that this had been Orihime's idea.

"I don't mind," Shane said. "Some company would be nice."

"Hooray!" Orihime cheered. Shane couldn't help but laugh. Even Tatsuki cracked a smile. "You seem to be in a good mood this morning," Shane said.

"Well, when I woke up this morning, I was feeling pretty happy, but I don't know why," Orihime said. "Maybe something good will happen today!"

Orihime ran a little ways ahead, lost in her own world. That left Shane and Tatsuki together. "Is she always this cheerful?" Shane asked.

"Usually," Tatsuki replied. She looked up at the sky and sighed. Shane studied her body language. It seemed Tatsuki had something to say, but she wouldn't say it for some reason.

"Is something wrong?" Shane finally asked. Tatsuki snapped out of her thoughts and grinned sheepishly. "Well, I'm not exactly sure how to say this," she started.

"Just say whatever it is," Shane offered. Tatsuki scowled at him. "It was just a suggestion," Shane said in defense.

Tatsuki sighed. "I'm not sure exactly what it is. It started one day when I went to visit Orihime. I don't know what happened, but I remember feeling very uneasy. Then I was in pain, but I didn't see anything. I must have blacked out, but I think I remember seeing Rukia. But after that day, I've started to see strange things." Tatsuki sighed. "You probably think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Not at all," Shane said out loud. _Oh boy, here it comes,_ he thought.

"Then there was that day at school when the windows shattered unexpectedly," Tatsuki added. "For some reason, my memories of that day are cloudy and jumbled up. But I distinctly remember being attacked by a purple octopus-looking thing, then waking up in my room with no idea how I got there." Tatsuki put her head in her hands. Shane said nothing and they walked in silence for a while.

Suddenly, Tatsuki raised her head and stared directly at Shane. "And you suddenly appeared in my room wearing black robes, looking like you just stepped out of a movie about the old days."

 _It's official now,_ Shane thought. "What do you think about all this?" he asked carefully.

"That's just it!" Tatsuki said, "I don't know what to think. Maybe I am going crazy."

 _You're not crazy. You've just been affected by Ichigo's enormous spirit power since he can't control it. Oh, and I'm actually a dead sprit,_ Shane wanted to say.

By that time, they had arrived at the school. Shane and Tatsuki silently walked to the classroom and sat down. Shane went through the rest of the day, but he couldn't focus on school. He kept thinking about what Tatsuki had said and he also thought about the previous day's events.

 _Soul Society is sure to find out about this,_ Shane thought. _That means they'll send someone to investigate and Rukia will be discovered and taken back to Soul Society where bad things will happen._ Shane also noticed Rukia seemed more distracted and aloof than normal. When the class was dismissed for their gym class, Rukia and Shane stayed behind.

Rukia sat in the window and watched the class outside. Shane stood next to her and said nothing.

"You know Soul Society is going to investigate what happened yesterday," Shane said finally. Rukia nodded her head. "And that means you will be discovered and taken back to stand trial," Shane added. Rukia nodded again. "You'll likely get the death penalty," Shane said softly.

"I know," Rukia said quietly. "I don't know what to do."

Shane had never seen Rukia seem so small and fragile. A slight push and she'd likely shatter into a thousand pieces. "Have you been keeping in contact with Captain Ukitake?"

Shane nodded. "He probably knows what's been happening even if I hadn't been keeping him updated," he said. He drew a deep breath and let it all out at once. "Have you decided what you are going to do?" Rukia shook her head. "Well, let me know and I'll do what I can to help," Shane said.

"But that would mean you'd be helping a fugitive," Rukia said. Shane shrugged. "What are they going to do? Technically, I'm not even a ranked officer in the 13th Squad or anything. As far as they are concerned, I'm just another nobody. Who pays attention to a nobody in Squad 13?"

"But even then, I'd hate to see anyone get into trouble over me," Rukia said. She turned back to the window and watched as Orihime hit a home run in her recently invented game.

The class came back from outside and class dragged on through the day. Finally, the day was over and everyone filed out of the classroom. As he left, Shane turned back to look at Rukia. She seemed lost and out of place as she gathered her books in her bag. Shane waited for her outside the gate. Rukia came out of the school and held a brief conversation with Ichigo. Ichigo then left, leaving Rukia alone. Shane walked to where she was standing.

"I've made up my mind," Rukia said. Shane tilted his head and awaited her answer. "I'm going to run away and leave Ichigo," she said.

Shane blinked a few times. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. Rukia nodded her head. "This way, when they come for me, Ichigo won't get involved and he'll be left alone to carry out the rest of his life."

"Too bad it won't be that simple," Shane said. Rukia raised an eyebrow in confusion. "If Ichigo figures out you ran away, he'll try to come after you," Shane explained.

Rukia put her hand to her chin and thought. "You're probably right," she said. "I'll write him a coded note. That way, when he finally finds it, it will take him a while to break the code and read the letter."

"Regardless of how you tell him, eventually Ichigo will try to find you. And if that happens," Shane shook his head, leaving the thought unfinished.

Rukia sighed. "I guess there is no way around it," she said. "I wish he wasn't so stubborn and head strong sometimes."

Shane thought for a second, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the candy he'd bought at the store. "Here," he said and handed it to Rukia. "I know how much you like Chappy the rabbit and I saw this and I figured you'd like it."

Rukia took the candy gently in her hands and stared at it. She clutched it to her chest and began to tremble slightly. Shane saw something fall from her face, a tear perhaps?

Rukia suddenly looked up. "Thank you," she said quietly. "This is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Shane shrugged. "Well, you're worth it," he said.

Rukia dried her eyes. "I have to get ready to leave," she said. "You'll look after Ichigo, right?"

"I'll try and keep an eye on him, depending on my orders," Shane promised. Rukia stood there, unsure of what to do next. She finally turned and ran off. She stopped and turned around.

"I promise we'll see each other again," Shane called out. Rukia smiled and ran on, leaving Shane alone with his thoughts. Then he turned and left.


	21. Tightening The Noose

That night, Shane was out looking for hollows. Actually, that's a lie. Shane was perched on a telephone pole across from Ichigo's house. He had watched Rukia leave about an hour earlier and silently wished her luck. The light came on in Ichigo's room and Shane heard a commotion. There was much arguing and yelling, then Urahara suddenly appeared in Ichigo's window. Shane didn't hear what was said, but then Ichigo, in his Death God uniform, jumped out his window and landed in the street. Before he took two steps, Shane appeared in front of him.

"Huh? Where did you come from?" Ichigo asked in surprise. Shane said nothing, his face hard as steel. Ichigo shook his head. "I don't care where you came from. Listen! Rukia ran away and we have to go find her!" he shouted.

"Why?" Shane asked.

Ichigo was startled at Shane's cold demeanor. "Because she'll be caught and taken back to Soul Society!" Ichigo said.

"And what do you think would happen if you happened to save her this time?" Shane asked.

"I...uh...well..." Ichigo stammered and scratched his head.

"If you go rushing off like an idiot, you might happen to save Rukia. But what about the next time they come for her or the time after that?" Shane asked. Ichigo's face fell. "If you happen to save her this night, you'll only prolong the inevitable," Shane said.

"But, isn't Rukia your comrade?" Ichigo asked, "Don't you want to help her?"

"Help her do what?" Shane asked, his voice rising. "What is it that you think you can do?"

"I'll rescue Rukia and kill anyone that gets in my way!" Ichigo shouted.

"And then what?" Shane shouted back. "Are you going to live out the rest of your days, always watching your back, never at a moment's rest? Why is Rukia that importaint to you?"

"Because I owe her my life!" Ichigo screamed. Shane glared at Ichigo. "She risked her life to save me, when I couldn't protect my own family," Ichigo said. "I know there is nothing I can do to repay her for that, but I still have to try."

"So you are going to throw away everything, just to save someone who is important to you?" Shane scoffed.

"Yes!" Ichigo shouted. He grabbed the handle of his Soul Slayer. "If you won't get out of my way, I'll just have to make you move!" he said.

"Are you sure that's wise, boy?" Shane threatened. His body began to glow a soft silvery color and Shane's spirit power began to rise.

Ichigo put his hand in front of his face. "Heh," he scoffed, "Is that all you got?" Ichigo drew his Soul Slayer and pointed it at Shane. There was a burst of wind and Shane felt Ichigo's spirit power begin to dwarf his own. Shane increased his spirit power output and Ichigo did the same. The ground at their feet began to crack and break apart from the force of their combined spirit power.

"Do you think this is wise?" a calming voice said in Shane's mind.

"Probably not, but the longer I keep him distracted, the longer he has to live," Shane replied.

"They are here," Tsukuyomi whispered.

"I know," Shane said. He closed his eyes and reduced his spirit power to zero. Ichigo felt the resistance fade and disappear. "Ha!" he shouted in victory, "I knew you had nothing."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," Shane replied. He sighed and stepped aside. "If you want to rush off to your death, be my guest. I'll be along shortly to send your soul to Soul Society."

"Don't count on it," Ichigo said with a grin. "I'll be back in no time."

Shane watched as Ichigo ran off. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, the world seemed to stop and fade out and Tsukuyomi was standing in front of him.

"What do you think will happen?" Shane asked.

"He'll put up a fight, simply because of his high spirt power, but eventually he will fail," Tsukuyomi said.

Shane nodded his head. "I thought so."

"However," Tsukuyomi continued, "There is something strange." Shane perked up to listen. "His Soul Slayer is large because that boy has large spirit power, but the Soul Slayer itself has very little spirit power in it," Tsukuyomi explained. "I can't even hear that Soul Slayer's voice. But that's not all."

Shane crossed his arms. "Now that you mention it, there is something that doesn't seem right," he said. "Now, Ichigo received his power from Rukia. But Rukia herself never had spirit power in the amount Ichigo does. What if, by Rukia giving Ichigo her Death God power, she somehow awakened Ichigo's own Death God power?"

Tsukuyomi nodded in agreement. "That does seem plausible."

Shane frowned. "But something seems to be missing," he said. He felt a sudden increase of spirit power that was Ichigo's. "I suppose I should go see what is happening," he said. _That idiot is going to try and fight? I guess I'll be sending his soul to Soul Society after all,_ Shane thought. Tsukuyomi nodded and faded away, and the world resumed its normal pace.

Using flash steps, Shane covered the distance quickly. He saw Uryuu Ishida laying on the pavement and Ichigo and Lieutenant Renji Abarai engaged in a furious battle, while Rukia watched in horror. Shane glanced around and saw Captain Kuchiki watching with little interest. Shane instinctively reduced his spirit power to zero to avoid being seen. Ichigo laid Renji low and was about to finish him off when Captain Kuchiki suddenly appeared to be holding something in his hand.

Shane blinked. _What just happened?_

Renji stared in shock and Rukia's mouth went up and down, but no sound came out. Ichigo had a look of confusion on his face, and he realized that the blade of his Soul Slayer was missing! He looked around and his eyes went wide when he saw Captain Kuchiki holding the blade of his Soul Slayer. Captain Kuchiki dropped the blade and it clattered on the ground. The Captain then reached for his Soul Slayer and Ichigo turned to face him.

 _Here it comes,_ Shane thought.

Captain Kuchiki suddenly appeared behind Ichigo, his hand still on the handle of his Soul Slayer. Ichigo had a blank expression on his face, then blood began to spurt out of a wound Ichigo never felt happen. Ichigo began to slowly fall forward. Shane saw Captain Kuchiki's hand twitch, and Ichigo fell face down on the pavement, now bleeding from a second wound. Shane sighed and lowered his head. _Well, that's that,_ he thought.

"Wait," Tsukyomi said. Shane opened his eyes and glanced around, but saw nothing. "Before the second strike, I felt a sudden drop in that boy's spirit power. The very instant the second blow landed, Ichigo's power was no greater than that of Rukia Kuchiki," Tsukuyomi said.

"Are you sure?" Shane asked, "I didn't sense anything."

"Believe me when I say it happened," Tsukuyomi said. Captain Kuchiki suddenly raised his head and looked in Shane's direction. Shane gasped and ducked behind a bush. "I know you are there, so come out," Captain Kuchiki called out. Shane cringed. _Oh well,_ he thought and stepped out. Shane flash stepped and kneeled in front of Captain Kuchiki.

"Shane Akiyama of Squad 13 reporting sir," Shane said. Captain Kuchiki said nothing and Shane could feel the weight of his stare and spirit power bearing down on him.

"Report your reason for being here," Captain Kuchiki commanded.

"Sir!" Shane said, "I was sent by Captain Ukitake to observe Rukia Kuchiki and monitor her progress while Miss Kuchiki was on mission here in the Real World, sir!"

"So you have been here the whole time?" Captain Kuchiki asked.

"Yes sir!" Shane replied.

"So you did nothing when Rukia Kuchiki committed this felony?" Captain Kuchiki asked. Shane felt the burden increase.

"Sir! Rukia Kuchiki is very clever and managed to elude me. I have failed in my mission and I will accept any punishment you deem necessary!" Shane said quickly. _Liar, liar, pants on fire,_ Tsukuyomi whispered in Shane's head.

 _Shut up!_ Shane thought back.

Captain Kuchiki thought for a moment. "It is not my place to punish someone who is not even in my squad. I will inform Captain Ukitake of you failure and have him deal with you as he sees fit," he said.

"Yes sir, thank you sir!" Shane replied.

Captain Kuchiki stepped away and Shane stood up and watched Captain Kuchiki, Lieutenant Abarai and Rukia returned to Soul Society. Just as the doors closed, Rukia turned to look back at Ichigo and Shane, then she was gone. The door disappeared and the rain began to fall, leaving Shane and Ichigo in the middle of the street. Shane looked down and saw Ichigo's face wrinkled in anger and pain. Shane thought about saying something to him but stopped. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When the line picked up, Shane said, "Captain, we have another problem," He briefly explained the situation and hung up.

Shane heard the _click-clack_ of wooden sandals and saw a familiar person appear, holding an umbrella. Urahara stood over Ichigo, whom had blacked out.

"My, my, what have we here?" Urahara said. He looked to Shane. "It's done then?" he asked. Shane nodded his head. "They just left for Soul Society."

"Well, we haven't much time, so we need to get started immediately," Urahara said.

Shane frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Urahara stared down at Ichigo's unconscious body. "This boy still has an important role to play," he said. He turned to Shane and stared with his one visible eye from under his hat. "And so do you," he added.

"Me?" Shane asked in surprise, "What can I do?"

Urahara grinned. "You'll see," he said.


	22. Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever

Later that night, Shane sat on the roof of the school. He stared up at the moon and thought about the events of that evening.

"Well, since Rukia has been brought back to Soul Society, I have no need for you to continue in the Real World. Someone else will be assigned Rukia's patrol area. Come back to Soul Society as soon as you are able," Captain Ukitake had said.

"Understood sir," Shane had replied and hung up his phone. Now Shane was contemplating his next action.

"In all honesty, I should just go back right now," Shane thought aloud. "But I would like to say goodbye to everyone first."

 _That's what you get for getting too attached to the Real World,_ a voice whispered in Shane's head. Shane hung his head in shame. "I know," he whispered, "But they made it so easy. They are good people and easy to get along with."

 _But you have no reason for being here,_ the voice argued, _They are still alive, and you are a spirit of Death. You would out live them all anyway. How would you feel if you had to someday guide their souls to Soul Society? Or what if one of them happened to become a hollow? Would you be able to carry out your duty?_

"I don't know," Shane said, grabbing his head.

 _That's what happens when you form attachments to humans,_ the voice continued. _Your feelings and emotions would conflict with your orders. Besides, Death Gods have no need for such trivial things as feelings anyway._

Shane moaned in anguish. "But I don't want to be like Captain Kuchiki!" he protested, "I like having friends and feelings!"

 _Then sever all ties to this world and never seek them out again,_ the voice commanded. _You are only making this harder on yourself. If you simply leave now, you can forget about them. But if you wait to say goodbye, then you'll never want to leave this place. You don't belong here!_

"Get out of my head!" Shane shouted, "I don't need this right now!"

 _You know what must be done,_ the voice said and disappeared, leaving Shane alone in the dark. He sighed and looked back to the moon. "Be glad you don't have to deal with this nonsense," he said. He lay back and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Tsukuyomi was standing over him.

"Tsukuyomi," Shane blinked in surprise. He sat up suddenly and found himself back in that endless field. The bright moon cast long shadows everywhere, and a harsh wind was blowing the grass everywhere. Shane looked around and asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Your soul is in turmoil," Tsukuyomi said. Shane narrowed his eyes as Tsukuyomi continued. "You have let yourself become attached to the Living World. Because of this, you find it difficult to return to where you belong."

"So what?" Shane said. "Maybe I like doing things the hard way."

Tsukuyomi stared at Shane for a while. Shane was starting to become uncomfortable with the silence. Tsukuyomi sat in the grass and Shane did the same. They sat across from each other, still saying nothing. Shane saw that Tsukuyomi's eyes were closed, so Shane did the same. At first, he could feel his anger and confusion rolling around inside him like a fierce storm. Shane found himself focusing on the wind blowing around him and the sound of the grass whistling in the wind. Shane found that his anger was subsiding and he began to feel calmer. As a result, the wind around him died down to a gentle breeze.

"Now that you are calm, do you find your decision easier to make?" Tsukuyomi asked.

Shane nodded. "It may not be right, but I'm still going to say goodbye to Ichigo and the others," he said.

Tsukuyomi nodded. "If that is your choice." Shane closed his eyes again. Just then, he felt a blinding glare in his eyes. He put his hand up to shield his eyes and sat up. Shane opened his eyes and found that he was still sitting on top of the school, but now the sun was up and the kids were starting to arrive.

"I must have fallen asleep," Shane said and rubbed his head. "Did I dream that whole thing?" Shane then felt a warm sensation spread throughout his body. "Hmm. I guess it was real," he said. Since he was still in his Death God form, Shane didn't worry about anyone seeing him. He jumped off the roof and began to search for a certain orange-haired boy.

"Hey Ichigo," Shane called out. Ichigo stopped and turned around. When he saw Shane, Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "What do you want," he hissed.

"Careful now," Shane warned, "You're the only one who can see me right now. If you start yelling and screaming at seemingly no one, people will think you're crazy and lock you up or something."

"I don't care what other people think," Ichigo said. "Why didn't you help Rukia last night?"

Shane sighed and crossed his arms. "Are you really that stupid?" he asked. "I thought we went over this yesterday,"

"So you sat and watched Rukia get taken back to Soul Society to die?" Ichigo asked, his voice starting to raise.

"Careful," Shane warned. "Besides, what could I do? You remember what Captain Kuchiki did to you right? And second, Rukia wouldn't have wanted me to help anyway. Do you know why she ran away?"

Ichigo blinked. "I thought not," Shane said. "Rukia ran away so that you wouldn't be caught up in her affairs. But since you're an idiot and ran after her anyway, you almost died. So you directly ignored Rukia's last wish for you." Shane said.

"I don't care about that," Ichigo said. "Sometimes, you have to do things, despite what people want for you. Sometimes, Rukia doesn't know what's good for her."

Shane sighed. "You sure are stubborn, strawberry-boy," he said. Ichigo's face twisted in anger and his cheeks turned pink. "I didn't come here to fight, I came here to say goodbye," Shane said. "Since Rukia is gone, I have no reason for being here." Shane turned and walked away. "By the way, I wonder what will happen when we meet in Soul Society," Shane said.

"Hey wait!" Ichigo called out, but Shane was gone. Ichigo cursed under his breath and walked to school.

Shane shook his head. "I have no doubt that we'll meet again in Soul Society," he thought to himself, "But under what circumstances?"

Shane saw the second person he wanted to speak to. Tatsuki was walking by herself. Shane stood in front of her and waited for her to walk to him. When she was a few paces away, she stopped and looked up. "Oh, it's you," she said.

"Hi Tatsuki," Shane said sheepishly. Tatsuki raised an eyebrow and looked him over. "What's with those clothes?" she asked.

"Actually, there is something I need to tell you," Shane said. Tatsuki's gaze softened. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Something happened back home and I'm going back to America," Shane said. It was only half true.

Tatsuki gasped. "What happened?" she asked.

"A friend of mine got hurt and she's in a life or death situation," Shane said. Even though he wasn't giving the whole truth, he still felt a little guilty about lying to Tatsuki.

"Oh, I see," Tatsuki said. Her face fell and she looked to the ground. Shane frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Well, I was hoping you'd be able to stick around for a while," Tatsuki said. "I've got a national karate competition coming up, and I was hoping you could help me train, seeing that you're the only one who can keep up with me."

Inside, Shane smiled. He put his hands on Tatsuki's shoulders. "I tell you what," he said. "Tell me the date of the competition, and I'll try my very hardest to come and watch."

Tatsuki's face lit up. "Really?" she asked. Shane nodded. Tatsuki grinned, but then frowned. "I guess you'll be leaving now," she said. Shane nodded his head. "But I am glad for the time I was here," he said. "I was able to experience Japan and meet some wonderful people at the same time."

"Well, I have to get to school now," Tatsuki said and ran off. "I'll see you soon!" she called behind her.

When she was out of sight, Shane pulled out his Soul Slayer and stabbed the air. "Open," Shane commanded and a door appeared. The door opened, revealing a bright light. A black butterfly appeared and flew around Shane, who stepped into the door and back to Soul Society. The gate closed behind him and disappeared.


	23. Checking In With The Boss

A quick note: I mentioned before that some of the original characters in this story are not mine. Mika and Itzuma, who appear below, were borrowed with permission from another author on Quizilla. Since that website doesn't exist anymore, I can't link to that author's page. Author-san, if you are out there, thank you for your hard work and great story.

The first thing Shane did when he got back to Soul Society was go to the 4th Squad barracks. He opened the door and found many people rushing about, undertaking various tasks. Some were carrying relief supplies, others were discussing medical procedures. Others were cleaning the building. Shane inhaled sharply and caught the sterile smell of a hospital or clinic. Shane gently pushed his way through the hustle and bustle and up a set of stairs. He walked down the hall and stopped at a room at the end of the hall. He put his ear next to the door and listened for a few seconds. At first, he didn't hear anything, but then Shane heard a faint cough. He held his breath and opened the door.

"Do you really have to sneak around like that?" a cheerful voice said.

Shane was taken aback at her comment. He blinked a few times and tried to regain his composure.

"Oh come on!" Olivia said, "Don't you have anything to say?"

"I...uh...well...I didn't expect you to be in such a good mood," Shane said.

"Ha!" Olivia laughed, "You never change. I haven't seen you in over a month, and the first thing you think is if I'm sick and dying?"

Shane had to smile. Olivia smiled and the whole room seemed to brighten. Even though Olivia was small and frail, that never stopped her from living every day to the fullest. Her room was covered with bright pictures and the windows were wide open, letting in the sunlight. Shane looked to the window and noticed Olivia's flower collection was doing well.

"I see you have added some new flowers," Shane said. He walked over to admire the beautiful blossoms.

"So you like them?" Olivia asked. "I had them brought back from the Real World." She pointed to several flowers that hadn't bloomed yet. "I think you'll like those," she said.

"What are they?" Shane asked. He bent over and looked at them closely.

"They're called Moon Flowers," Olivia said. "They are a rare flower that bloom at night."

"You're right," Shane said, "I do like them. I'll have to come back in the evening to see them." Shane stood up and looked to Olivia. Her short red hair was worn down and her robes seemed to hang loosely off her tiny body. Her skin was very pale, but her bright blue eyes sparkled with life. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Oh, some days are better than others," Olivia said and coughed lightly. "I've been getting some new medicine from the Captain that seems to be helping."

"Well, I'm glad to see you're feeling better," Shane said. Olivia invited Shane to sit down and she poured some tea. "I hear you've been in the Real World on a special assignment," Olivia said.

Shane nodded. "Yes. Captain Ukitake said it was a personal favor from himself and someone else."

Olivia folded her hands and leaned forward. "So, can you tell me about it?" she asked.

Shane thought for a moment. "I suppose I could let you in on a few details, since the mission wasn't top secret or anything," he said.

Shane spent the next few hours telling Olivia about Rukia Kuchiki and Ichigo Kurosaki, the human boy she gave her powers to. Shane also talked about his experiences in the real world, but only mentioned Tatsuki Arisawa briefly.

"Whoa, hang on a sec," Olivia interrupted, "Tell me more about this girl."

"Who, Tatsuki?" Shane asked, "Why do you want to know about her?"

Olivia shrugged. "Obviously she had some kind of impact on you while you were in the Real World, or you wouldn't have mentioned her. So gimmie the goods." Olivia squirmed in her seat.

"Well," Shane said, "She's good at hand to hand, and one of her goals is to be the Vale Tudo champion."

"What's that?" Olivia asked.

"It's like a big fighting tournament or something. That's how it was explained to me anyway," Shane said. "I think she'll do it too."

"So did she beat you up?" Olivia asked.

"Only when I let her," Shane said. Olivia laughed. "What? You don't believe me?" Shane asked, getting angry.

"Oh sure I do," Olivia said. Shane merely gave her an even look. "Yeah, she was a neat person to hang out with," he said.

Shane stood up and thanked Olivia for the tea. "I've got to get going. I'm sure Captain Ukitake will be wanting to see me," he said.

"Well, please be sure to stop by again," Olivia said, showing Shane to the door. Shane exited the 4th Squad barracks and walked up down the street, making his way to the 13th Squad office. He opened the door and was greeted by a shower of papers. It looked like something had exploded in the office. Chairs were strewn across the room and papers rained down like confetti. He could make out two people running through the room. The one doing the running had long, black hair that flowed out behind her as she ran. The other, the one doing the chasing, was a bit taller and had short red and black hair.

"Oh, hi Shane!" the short one said as she ran past. Shane watched as she ran a lap around the room. "Nice to see you again!" she called out when she passed him again.

"Nice to see you too, Mika," Shane said. He couldn't help but smile. "Itzuma, what happened this time?"

Itzuma stopped and brushed her short hair out of her face. "Mika decided things were getting boring around here lately, so she took it upon herself to 'create some excitement.' I figured I'd give her a taste of her own medicine.'" Itzuma put her hands on her hips and sighed. "So when did you get back?" she asked.

Before Shane could answer, a pen came flying across the room and hit Itzuma on the head, followed by giggling from Mika. Itzuma took a deep breath and Shane could see the fire in her eyes. "Is the Captain in right now?" Shane asked carefully. Itzuma gritted her teeth and nodded.

"Well, I'll see you later," Shane said softly and carefully made his way out of the room.

"Mika!" Itzuma roared, "Come back here and face your divine punishment!"

"Oh no, whatever will I do?" Mika laughed. Itzuma started cursing again and the chase resumed. Shane shut the door behind him, feeling lucky to have made it out of there with his life.

Shane walked down the hall and stopped at the closed door. He kneeled down, opened the door, and bowed out of respect. Shane looked up and saw Captain Ukitake kneeling at his desk with his back to the door, working on some paperwork. Captain Ukitake turned his head and smiled when he saw Shane. "Please, come in," he said. Shane stood up and entered the room, kneeling again behind the captain.

"When did you come back?" Captain Ukitake asked.

"Right after Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Abarai brought Rukia back to Soul Society," Shane replied. "I stopped to see an old friend before coming here."

"And how is dear Olivia? I hear she's been feeling better as of late," Ukitake said. Shane hid his surprise and said, "She's fine."

Captain Ukitake put down his papers and turned to face Shane. "Tell me about what happened in the Real World. Tell me every detail."

Shane took a deep breath and spent the next few hours telling Captain Ukitake what had happened. Captain Ukitake interrupted Shane a few times to ask questions. When Shane was finished, Captain Ukitake leaned back and sighed. "My, my. What a wonderful mess this has turned out to be," he said.

"What would you like me to do now?" Shane asked. Ukitake closed his eyes. "I don't have anything for you. Since you aren't a ranked officer and aren't attached to any of the ranked officers, just go about your daily business. Check in daily so I know your whereabouts."

Shane bowed again and left. "Thank you Captain Ukitake," he said and closed the door.


	24. A Promise Kept

A few days later, Shane went back to the Real World. Since he was not on official Soul Society business, he had to sneak through the gate. But at the moment, Shane didn't care. He had made someone a promise and he intended to keep it.

It was late afternoon and school was out for the summer. Tatsuki was walking down the street to the store for some quick shopping. She stared at the sidewalk, hands stuffed deep into her pockets.

"Man, I'm so bored," she complained. She stopped and stared up at the clouds. A light breeze ruffled her short hair. "I wonder what everyone else is doing?" she thought.

"This isn't like you at all," a voice said. Tatsuki's eyes went wide as she recognized the speaker. She quickly looked around to find the source. She looked behind her and saw Shane standing there, grinning from ear to ear. It took a second for Tatsuki's brain to process what she was seeing. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Seeing Tatsuki smile gave Shane a warm, fuzzy feeling.

"I said I would come and watch you karate tournament, and here I am," Shane explained.

"Yeah, but..." Tatsuki said. Her smile faded and was replaced with a sheepish grin.

Shane pretended to be hurt. "You didn't think I was serious, did you," he said.

"Well, not really, no," Tatsuki admitted. "But I am glad you are here," she added quickly.

Shane looked around and noticed the sun was beginning to set. "Where are you off to?" he asked.

"Oh, just to do some shopping. I was thinking about visiting Orihime later also," Tatsuki said. She then frowned. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen very much of Orihime lately. Or even Ichigo."

Shane raised and eyebrow. "Oh, sorry about that," Tatsuki said. "I was spacing out there."

"Well," Shane said, putting his hands on his hips, "May I accompany you?"

"Sure," Tatsuki said, and they started walking.

When they had walked about half a block, Shane asked, "So, when does the tournament actually start?"

"Tomorrow morning and it lasts all day," Tatsuki said. "I'm sure a lot of people will show up."

Shane nodded his head. "I bet it will be a lot of fun." They arrived at the store and Shane helped Tatsuki with her shopping. After the groceries were paid for, Shane helped Tatsuki carry the bags back to her house.

"Say Tatsuki, can I ask you a question?" Shane asked.

"Sure," Tatsuki replied. Shane chewed his lip and thought about the best way to ask the question. "Have you ever had a boyfriend or anything like that?" he finally asked.

"What?" Tatsuki asked. Shane's question caught her off guard and she began to blush.

"I'm sorry," Shane quickly apologized, "I have no right to ask you something like that, but I was just curious and it kinda came out all of a sudden,"

"Why do you ask?" Tatsuki asked, "You want the job or something?"

Now it was Shane's turn to be embarrassed. "No, just curious," he said. _Idiot! Why are you having this conversation? What the heck is wrong with you?_ Shane's thoughts raged.

"I've never had a boyfriend," Tatsuki said. "I think all the boys are afraid of a girl who could beat them up."

"What about Ichigo?" Shane asked. Tatsuki shot him death glare. "Ichigo is a close friend of mine and nothing more," she said.

"But how does it make you feel to know that your friend Orihime is in love with your friend Ichigo?" Shane asked. Tatsuki fell silent and an awkward silence began hang overhead.

"I'm sorry," Shane whispered. _Now you've done it. You made her mad and now she'll want to beat you up,_ Shane thought.

"No, it's okay," Tatsuki said. Shane looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "To be honest, I'm kinda happy for Orihime. I'd rather she crush on Ichigo than some other guy. And Ichigo is too stupid to realize Orihime's feelings anyway." She looked up and a faint smile grew on her face. "They are my friends and I want the best for them."

By this time, Shane and Tatsuki had arrived in front of Tatsuki's house. Shane handed Tatsuki the bags he was carrying and Tatsuki opened the door. "Are you sure you don't want to stay and have supper?" Tatsuki asked. "I'm sure my parents won't mind."

"No, that's okay," Shane said, waving his hand. "Hey, where do you want me to meet you so we can go to the tournament?"

Tatsuki thought for a moment. "Meet me in front of the school tomorrow morning. The tournament is being held close to there," she said. Shane waved and walked away. Tatsuki watched him leave, then went inside. She set the bags down on the table and sighed.

 _What's with that guy?_ she thought. _He leaves to go back to America, then turns around and comes back, claiming he wants to go to the tournament? His parents must have a lot of money for plane tickets. Something doesn't feel right._ She put her hand to her chin and thought for a while. Tatsuki shook her head vigorously. "Now is not the time to be thinking about such things," she said. "You have to be ready to fight tomorrow!" She smacked her fist in her palm and thought about how she was going to inflict pain on her opponents. An evil grin crossed her face.

Shane stood outside the school, waiting for Tatsuki. He began to grow restless and started pacing back and forth. He rubbed his hands though his hair and kicked a rock, then slumped down on the pavement.

"Why am I so pathetic?" he asked himself. "I am at a complete loss for words. I can't even think right now. Even if I try, all I can manage is nothing." Shane hung his head and snickered at his own musings. "Is this how lowly I have become? I'm sitting here talking to myself, but I'm not helping. I must really dislike myself if I won't even talk back."

"What are you doing?" Tatsuki asked. Shane lazily glanced up at her and closed one eye. "Pay no mind. Just the ravings of a lunatic," he said.

"Well, you'd better stop. You're making me nervous," Tatsuki said. She held out her hand and helped Shane to his feet. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Shane shook his head and shrugged. "Have you ever known someone, then something happened and you realize you never really knew that person?"

"Now you are really creeping me out," Tatsuki said. She shied away from him and became defensive.

"Don't worry," Shane assured her. "I'm not going crazy or anything, just doing some soul searching."

"And?" Tatsuki asked, a little interested.

"I either don't have a soul or I'm not searching for it hard enough," Shane said.

Tatsuki gave him a sly look and sighed. "Look. I understand if you are having problems of some kind, but I can't help you right now. I have enough to worry about as it is."

They walked in silence until they reached the place where the tournament was being held. Although it was still early, the parking lot was full of people.

"Where are your parents?" Shane asked.

"They'll come later when the tournament actually starts," Tatsuki said. "Right now is just the registration and that sort of thing."

"Well, thanks for letting me come along," Shane said.

"Thanks for coming," Tatsuki replied with a smile.

They walked inside the building and Shane waited while Tatsuki took care of all the necessary paperwork. She came back holding two passes, handing one to Shane. "This lets you go anywhere and do anything," she said.

"How did you manage that?" Shane asked, taken completely by surprise. Tatsuki chuckled. "Well, I told them that you were my relative that had come to help me train."

Shane blinked a few times. "And they believed you?" he asked. Tatsuki grinned and Shane didn't argue. Tatsuki led Shane down toward the floor where separate rings were set up. Along the way, Tatsuki pointed out different fighters that she recognized.

"Wait here while I go and get changed," Tatsuki said and ran off, leaving Shane alone in the middle of the arena.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" someone asked. Shane turned around to see who was talking to him. "If you aren't entered in the tournament, you can't be down here," a tall boy with short, spiky blonde hair said.

Shane shrugged. "My apologies. I'm not from around here, so I am not familiar with all the rules," he said.

The boy stared at him long and hard. "Why are you here?" he asked. Before Shane could say anything, he felt an arm around his shoulders. "He's here with me, and if you have a problem we can settle this right now," Tatsuki said. She was smiling at the possibility of a fight.

The boy instantly backed down. "Hey now, no need to start anything right now," he said. He walked off with his friends, but turned to give Tatsuki a nasty look. She made a face at the boy and he turned around.

"You have to be careful around these punks," Tatsuki said. "But I think you wouldn't have any problem taking care of them."

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence anyway," Shane said. Tatsuki led him over to an empty mat and she began to stretch and warm up. Shane couldn't help but stare. As if sensing he was watching her, Tatsuki suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Get in here and spar with me a little," she said.

Shane blinked. "Are you serious?"

"Get in here!" Tatsuki growled. Shane stood up and loosened up a little. When he was ready, Shane got in a loose stance and with a smile, motioned for Tatsuki to come at him. Her eyes flashed and she went on the attack.

"Hey, calm down!" Shane said between blocks, "this is supposed to be your warm up, remember?" Tatsuki said nothing and she became even more violent.

 _She's really serious,_ Shane thought. _I don't want to hurt her, but I don't want to get hurt either._ Both Shane and Tatsuki were so focused on each other, they didn't see that they had begun to attract a crowd.

Finally, Shane grabbed Tatsuki and threw her across the mat. She landed on her feet, breathing hard. Shane was also trying to catch his breath. It was then they realized all the people who were watching.

"Wow! That was amazing!" someone said. Murmurs rose from the crowd.

"Pshh, it wasn't that great," someone said. Others turned to see who had spoken and Shane realized it was the boy from earlier.

"Well," Tatsuki said, breathing somewhat normal, "Thanks for the warm up. Now I'm ready!" Shane shook his head and wiped his face.

The tournament started shortly after. As he expected, Tatsuki breezed through her first few fights with little trouble. The tournament stopped for lunch and Tatsuki sat with Shane in the stands.

"You look good out there," Shane said.

"Thanks," Tatsuki said with a smile. "Those first few fights I could have won with my eyes closed and hopping on one foot."

Shane stopped eating and thought for a moment. "So what's happened since I left?" he asked.

"Well, I haven't seen much of Ichigo or Orihime recently," Tatsuki said. "Ichigo seems more distant than usual, as if he's distracted by something. I have no idea what could be wrong." Tatsuki had a sudden thought and stared right at Shane. "Do you know what might have happened to that girl Ichigo started hanging around with? I haven't seen her either."

Shane's heart skipped a beat. "Do you remember what her name was?" he asked carefully.

"Well," Tatsuki thought and stroked her chin. "Oh yeah, it was Rukia or something like that," she said.

Shane kept his composure and shrugged. "Perhaps she went back to where ever it was she came from."

They finished the meal and the next few rounds of the tournament began. As it came closer and closer to the finals, Tatsuki wasn't wining as easily and her fights became closer and closer. Shane breathed a sigh of relief when Tatsuki beat her last opponent and advanced to the finals.

"I'm so happy for you," Shane said when Tatsuki got off the mat. "You're one match away from being tournament champion for your division!"

Tatsuki blew him off. "I made too many mistakes and I almost lost," she said. She put her hands on her hips and scowled.

Shane grabbed her by the hand and dragged her towards the door. "Hey, wait!" Tatsuki protested, "Where are we going?"

Shane said nothing and pulled Tatsuki outside. The day was growing late and the sun was beginning to set. Shane inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It was getting stuffy in there," he said, pointing back to the building. "I needed some fresh air, and I'll bet you do too."

Tatsuki frowned as Shane took in several more breaths of outside air. Tatsuki closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Little by little, her frustration was replaced by a sense of calm. She opened her eyes and saw Shane looking intently at her. "Feel better?" he asked.

"Yes," Tatsuki nodded. She wandered out into the now partially empty parking lot with Shane following some distance behind. "This is kinda nice," she said. "I wish Ichigo and the others were here. It just doesn't feel right to be having this much fun without them."

"Yeah, I guess," Shane replied. The solitude was rudely interrupted by a piercing howl. Shane's eyes grew wide and Tatsuki froze. "What was that?" she asked.

Before Shane could answer, there was a loud crash, followed by screeching of multiple cars slamming on their brakes. Tatsuki ran out into the street. "Hey wait Tatsuki!" Shane called out, running after her. Shane saw a large Hollow walking down the street, causing buildings to shake and windows to shatter. Shane then realized the Hollow was after Tatsuki. _Oh this is bad,_ he thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shane saw a car speeding toward the hollow. The hollow roared and spit a slippery green substance at the car. The car hit the goo and spun wildly out of control.

"Look out Tatsuki!" Shane cried out. Tatsuki turned and saw the car barreling toward her. She froze, unable to move.

Shane ran as fast as he could, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time. _Please,_ he thought, _just a little bit faster!_ Shane willed his body to move faster, growing more frantic with each second that slipped by. The car had almost reached Tatsuki now, the driver panicking at the wheel, trying desperately to move his car. Tatsuki could do nothing but watch, her eyes wide with horror.

"NO!" Shane screamed. There was a sudden flash of light and he felt light as a feather.

The driver of the car stood on the brake pedal, locking the tires and leaving thick rubber lines on the street. Tatsuki finally managed to move her arms to protect herself, for all the good it would do.

Shane reached Tatsuki the same time the car did. In slow motion, the car hit Tatsuki, sending her flying through the air. Shane reached out and grabbed her and together they fell to the pavement, Shane's body cushioning their fall.

Shane sat up slowly and groaned. He looked down and saw Tatsuki held tightly in his arms. She had her eyes squinted shut. Shane also realized he was wearing his Death God clothes. He sat up and was rewarded with a sharp pain in his head.

"Are you okay Tatsuki?" Shane asked. Tatsuki opened her eyes and looked around. When she realized that Shane was holding her rather closely, she began to blush and pushed him away. "What happened?" she asked. Tatsuki then saw what Shane was wearing. "When did you change into those clothes?" she asked.

Shane blushed and scratched his head. "I have no idea," he said. He then became serious and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Tatsuki checked herself over. "I'm okay, just some bumps and bruises," she replied. She then twisted her right hand and winced in pain. Shane saw this and was skeptical. "No really, I'm okay," Tatsuki assured him. Shane heard a thunderous footstep and a shadow fell over him. Tatsuki turned white as a ghost and her eyes went wide. _Probably remembering the last time she saw something like that,_ Shane thought.

Shane stood up and leaped at the hollow. He drew his Soul Slayer and cut open the hollow's mask all in one fluid motion. The hollow dissolved into nothing and Shane walked back to Tatsuki. She was staring off into space, holding her right hand.

"Is something wrong?" Shane asked. Tatsuki shook her head. "My wrist is a little sore, that's all," she said. Shane looked closely and could tell her wrist was broken. "Hey, what about your final match?" he asked suddenly.

"Oh no!" Tatsuki gasped, "I hope they didn't start without me!" She ran back into the building and Shane retrieved his faux body and went back inside.

To give Tatsuki credit, she put up a valiant effort, but with a broken hand, she was beaten. She tried to hide it, but Shane could clearly see the pain etched across her face. Every punch, every block and every parry caused her more pain. After the awards were given out, Shane met Tatsuki outside the locker rooms. She was back in her regular clothes and her right hand heavily bandaged in a sling, failure and dejection written all over her face.

"You know, you gave it your all," Shane said. "What you did out there was absolutely amazing."

"Stop trying to make me feel better," Tatsuki sulked.

"You went out there, knowing you were at a disadvantage, and nearly won. Not many people are as driven to succeed as you are, and I admire you for it," Shane said. Tatsuki sighed and said nothing. Shane gave up and they walked back to Tatsuki's house in silence.

"So, what will you do after this?" Tatsuki asked.

"I might be around for a few days, then I'll go back to where I came from," Shane replied.

"Well," Tatsuki said slowly, "since it doesn't seem to be a problem for you, come by and visit any time you like. I'm sure Ichigo would be glad to see you."

"I can think of at least one other person who would be glad to see me," Shane remarked off handedly, making Tatsuki blush. She quickly opened the door and went inside.

Shane sighed and walked out to the middle of the street. He made sure no one was coming, and he separated from his faux body, letting it fall to the ground. Shane pulled his Soul Slayer and stabbed the air. The blade disappeared to the hilt and a door appeared and opened, revealing a bright light. A black butterfly fluttered out of the opening and circled Shane's head. Before he could enter the gate, he heard the _click-clack_ of wooden sandals

"Why are you here Urahara?" Shane asked without turning around.

"Ah, perceptive as always," Urahara drawled. "Anyway, I need your help with something."

"What kind of help?" Shane asked, finally turning around. Urahara smiled and played with his fan.


	25. A Secret Admirer?

A quick note: In the Author's Note on the group page, I mentioned that some of the original characters in this story are not mine. Aki Wanatabe is one of them. Since Quizilla does not exist anymore, I can't link to her story or author's page, and I don't remember the author's name. ( _insert polite bow_ ) Author-san, if you are reading this, I am sorry for forgetting you. Your story was awesome.

Shane followed Urahara back to his store. As they passed through the entrance, Shane noticed a sign in the window.

"Since when do you close the store?" Shane asked.

"Oh, everyone needs a day off now and then right?" Urahara replied and Shane let the subject drop. In the back of the store, one of the floor panels was missing. Shane leaned over and looked down the hole. He noticed a ladder led down into what seemed like infinite darkness.

"What's down there?" Shane asked.

"Why not follow the white rabbit down the hole and find out?" Urahara asked with a sly grin. Shane rolled his eyes and jumped down the hole. At first, all he could see was darkness, but a light appeared at the bottom and quickly became bigger. Shane landed lightly on his feet and stepped aside. He looked around and was stunned at the sheer size of the room he was in. Since the ceiling and walls were painted to look like sky, it gave the illusion that Shane was still outside.

Shane looked back up the ladder and saw a small speck quickly grow into the shape of Urahara dropping to the ground. Shane panicked and ran away, right when Urahara landed with a loud CRASH, sending dust and chunks of rock flying everywhere. When the dust cleared, Urahara saw the stupid expression on Shane's face.

"Well, wasn't that exciting?" Urahara asked. He began walking and Shane followed close behind, taking every detail of his surroundings. No doubt this was an extremely large underground cavern of some type, but it didn't seem natural. Everywhere he looked, Shane saw small rocks and large boulders with the occasional shrub. The room reminded Shane of a desert.

Urahara led Shane to a group of boulders where several people were gathered. Shane saw a small boy with red hair, a girl with black pigtails, a tall muscular man wearing an apron, and another girl he didn't know.

"Hey, the owner's back!" the young boy replied.

"So, how did things go while I was out?" Urahara asked.

Shane ignored Urahara and instead concentrated on the girl. She had her back to him, but Shane could see she was wearing a Shinigami uniform.

"Hey," Shane called out, "Who are you?"

The girl turned around and said, "My name is Aki Wanatabe."

Shane frowned. "I don't think I've ever seen you before. What squad are you with?"

"Well, um, technically, I'm with the 11th squad," Aki replied. She took a closer look at Shane. "Perhaps I should ask you who you are and what squad you're in,"

"Shane Akiyama, Squad 13," Shane introduced himself. Aki squinted and carefully looked Shane up and down. "Let's see," she thought outloud, "Tall and kinda skinny, dark hair, glasses." She looked to Shane's waist and saw his twin swords. "And a double Soul Slayer?" A light clicked on and she jumped back a few feet. Her face contorted with anger and she reached for her Soul Slayer.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Shane protested and put his hands up. "What's going on here?"

"Shut up you jerk!" Aki screamed, "No one makes 11th Squad look like fools and gets away with it!" She unsheathed her Soul Slayer and called out, "Outshine the stars, Rai-Kumo!"

There was a burst of light and Shane shielded his eyes from the dirt that was kicked up from the sudden release of soul power. He quickly jumped aside as a bolt of lightning made a crater where he had just been standing.

"What are you doing?" Shane yelled, using flash steps to dodge the lighting attacks.

"I've heard about you!" Aki called out. Shane looked above him and saw Aki leaping through the air and coming straight for him. "You think you can waltz into 11th Squad barracks and do as you like?"

"Huh?" Shane was still confused. He jumped and landed on top of a large rock, far above the ground.

"You went in there and beat up all of 11th Squad, then trashed the place!" Aki was standing at the base of the rock and staring up at Shane. Even from that height, he could see the fire in her eyes.

Shane thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean that?" he called out, "That was nothing. I was pretty mad and I had to blow off some steam." Shane became exasperated and shouted, "Besides, I thought you guys liked to do nothing but fight! I figured you all would appreciate my willingness to fight you all!"

"Shut up! I'm done talking!" Aki shouted. She clutched her Soul Slayer tightly in both hands. Shane could see sparks of electricity coming from her feet. Then Aki began to run up the rock, speeding toward Shane.

 _Interesting,_ Shane thought. _She builds up massive amounts of static electricity in her feet to cling to vertical surfaces._ "I'm quite impressed with your ability," Shane called out.

Aki was slightly taken aback by his comment. When she reached the top, Aki jumped high in the air and held her Soul Slayer above her head, intending to slice Shane in half.

"Now watch my ability," Shane stared up at her. Aki paused a split second and watched as Shane put his hands together in front of his face. "Tsukuyomi New Moon Technique," Shane called out. Aki was close enough now that she swung Rai-Kumo as hard as she could, intending to slice Shane right in half...

...and hit only air.

Aki was stunned as she landed. "What happened?" she wondered. Aki looked around, but saw no trace of Shane. She scratched her head, clearly confused.

"You are well trained, have excellent sword skills, and have good stamina," Shane whispered in her ear. Aki whirled around, but saw no one.

"The only thing you lack is combat experience," Shane said in her other ear. Aki quickly turned the other way, but still saw nothing.

"Alright already!" Aki called out. Her knuckles turned white from the death grip she had on her Soul Slayer. "Come out from where ever you are hiding!" She looked around and saw Shane materialize out of thin air, a few feet in front of her. Aki blinked a few times and her mouth fell open. "How did you do that?" she asked.

"That's just one of the abilities my Soul Slayer has," Shane explained. He walked to the edge of the rock with Aki watching him closely. He looked down and saw Urahara wave to him.

"Come on, Urahara wants to see us," Shane said. He turned back to Aki and waved her over. Reluctantly, Aki returned Rai-Kumo to its sealed state and sheathed her Soul Slayer. Together, they jumped down from the rock.


	26. Training Days

"Now then, let me explain," Urahara said. "Shane, I want you to train with Ichigo for the next five days. I spent the last five days training with Ichigo, but I want you to finish."

"Hey wait a minute!" Ichigo protested, "Why are you doing this now? I don't have time to be changing teachers every few minutes!"

Urahara sighed and fanned himself. "Impatient as ever I see. You might have ten days to do as you like, but I am a very busy business man. I have errands to run and a shop to take care of."

"You're so full of it," Ichigo sulked.

Urahara ignored him and turned to Shane. "I'll leave the training method up to you. Just make sure you don't hurt him too badly." Urahara said the last part loud enough for Ichigo to hear. He then whispered, "Don't underestimate him either." Shane nodded.

"Hey! Don't talk about me like that!" Ichigo shouted. Shane watched Urahara leave, then turned to Ichigo. "Well, we can do this the hard way or the very hard way."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked. Shane pulled his swords, sheath and all, out of his sash and held them in front of him. "The hard way, I'll use my Soul Slayer," Shane explained. "The very hard way, I won't use my Soul Slayer."

"Huh?" Ichigo asked, clearly confused. "How is the very hard way without your Soul Slayer?" Ichigo grinned. "You'd better use your Soul Slayer or you won't stand a chance against me!"

Shane sighed and shook his head. "Still underestimating your opponents? Seriously, you should stop. If you do that in Soul Society, you'll die for sure."

"Whatever, let's get started already!" Ichigo said. He held his Soul Slayer in front of him, ready for action.

Shane stood there with his arms crossed and stared at Ichigo's Soul Slayer. "I see your Soul Slayer is different," he said. "Or is it just like the last one, all style and no substance."

"No, this here is the real deal," Ichigo said proudly. He swung it around, resting it on his shoulder.

Shane shrugged and walked over to a boulder and set his swords on top. "Please wait, just for a little while," he whispered.

 _I understand,_ Tsukuyomi's voice echoed in Shane's ears.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ichigo called out. He was starting to get annoyed with Shane.

"Okay, first step," Shane called out, "How to fight without your Soul Slayer."

"What do you mean without my Soul Slayer?" Ichigo asked. "Why would I ever have to fight without it?"

Shane smirked and Ichigo went on the alert _Oh crap, he's going to do something!_ Ichigo thought. He brought his Soul Slayer down to guard. He glared at Shane, blinked, and looked again...

 _But Shane wasn't there!_

Ichigo looked down and it took a split second for his brain to register what his eyes were seeing. His hands were empty, his Soul Slayer was gone!

"You sure talk big," Shane said. Ichigo whirled around and saw Shane standing behind him. In his hand was Ichigo's Soul Slayer.

"How..." Ichigo sputtered.

Shane walked to the rock his Soul Slayer was resting on and stabbed Ichigo's Soul Slayer in the ground next to the rock.

"Hey, don't do that!" Ichigo protested. He put his hands on his hips and glared at Shane.

"What was that you said about fighting without your Soul Slayer?" Shane taunted.

"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted. "You're just like Urahara, you know that?"

Shane pretended to be hurt. "I am in no way like that perverted shop keeper," he said.

"I heard that!" Urahara called out.

"Anyway, you seem to be on a tight timetable here, so let's get started," Shane said. He took a stance and waited for Ichigo. Ichigo grinned and got into his own stance.

"What's that look for?" Shane asked.

"Just so you know, I've been training since I was about four years old," Ichigo smirked.

"Yeah, Tatsuki told me she used to beat the crap out of you on a regular basis," Shane retorted.

Ichigo turned pale and collapsed. "She told you that?" he asked in a small voice. Shane smiled and nodded. Ichigo quickly regained his composure. "But that was then and this is now!" he said.

"Okay, ready, set, go!" Shane said quickly and closed in on Ichigo.

"Hey wait!" a surprised Ichigo said. Shane gave Ichigo two quick punches to the body. When Ichigo's defense broke, Shane grabbed Ichigo and threw him into a boulder with such force, the boulder cracked in half.

"Who are you?" Ichigo gasped. He looked up and saw Shane standing over him with his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face.

"Shane Akiyama, 13th squad, formerly of the Secret Mobile Corps.," Shane replied. "That means I'm one of the best hand to hand fighters in all of Soul Society.

Ichigo stood up and leaned on the rock to steady his shaking legs. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Is that all you've got?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh?" Shane replied.

Shane then proceeded to pummel Ichigo for the next few hours. Ichigo was good, but he couldn't overcome Shane's speed and strength.

"Okay, let me take a break," Ichigo gasped.

"Are you tired already?" Shane asked. "We've only been at it for a few hours and I still have five days to go!" Ichigo sighed. "Get up and fight me!" Shane urged. Ichigo stood up and they fought for a few more hours. Slowly, Ichigo was beginning to fight back. Shane had to be a bit more careful as Ichigo was starting to see through Shane's attacks and anticipate where the blows would fall.

During another break, Shane stood off a distance from Ichigo and watched him closely. _I think I understand what you mean Urahara,_ Shane thought. _Ichigo is a very quick learner. He's already picked up on some of my moves. But I haven't shown him everything._

Shane walked back to the rock where their Soul Slayers were. He pulled Ichigo's out of the ground and held it in his hands. It was unlike any he had ever see. The blade was long and cleaver shaped. There was no hilt or guard, just a handle wrapped in white cloth. It wasn't all that heavy, but it seemed to resonate with power. Shane walked over to Ichigo and handed him his Soul Slayer.

"Okay, now you can use this thing," Shane said. Ichigo took his Soul Slayer and gripped it in his hands. "It feels good to hold it again," Ichigo said.

They stood up and faced each other. "For this next part, you are going to attack me with your Soul Slayer," Shane announced.

"Aren't you going to use your Soul Slayer?" Ichigo asked.

"This is also a lesson for you on how to not underestimate your opponent," Shane added.

"That's okay," Ichigo said with a grin. "I think I've got you figured out already."

"There you go again," Shane sighed. "It's like teaching a rock. Nothing gets though to you does it, Strawberry Boy,"

"Shut up!" Ichigo glared. "My name means-"

"'One who protects,'" Shane finished. "I know, Tatsuki told me that too,"

Ichigo slumped over. "Is there anything she didn't tell you?" he asked quietly.

"Cheer up Ichigo," Shane said. "Now you get to hack and slash at me all you want." Ichigo's grin was full of evil.

"Now that you are motivated, come at me like you intend on killing me!" Shane shouted.

"AHHHHH!" Ichigo yelled and charged at Shane. Shane dropped into a stance, a grin on his face. Ichigo made a stab at Shane, but Shane stepped to the outside. As Ichigo's momentum carried him past, Shane grabbed Ichigo's right arm in an arm lock, forcing Ichigo to a bent over position. Shane walked Ichigo around in a circle, then rolled over Ichigo's back, while still holding on to Ichigo's arm, causing Ichigo to roll over Shane's back. Using Ichigo's arm for leverage, Shane slammed Ichigo to the ground with such force, a small crater formed under Ichigo's body.

( watch?v=gIU2AyzUg8g skip to 5:55 to see the move)

Shane stepped back and watched Ichigo twitch for a moment. "Are you done yet?" Shane goaded. "I wonder what Rukia would say if she saw you right now,"

"Shut up you devil," Ichigo muttered. He peeled himself off the ground and shakily got to his feet.

"Let's go!" Shane shouted, "Come at me like you want to kill me!"

"If only you knew how much I'd like to right now," Ichigo growled and gripped his Soul Slayer.

"Then show me!" Shane called out. Ichigo roared again and charged Shane.

Shane lost track how long they fought like that. Ichigo stabbed and slashed, while Shane punched and kicked. He threw Ichigo around and beat him to a pulp, but Ichigo got up every time and continued fighting. Finally they took a break.

"Why do you want this so bad?" Shane asked. Ichigo drank some water and wiped his face with a towel. "I told you, I have to save Rukia," he said.

"Why does Rukia need saving? She broke the law and she needs to be punished," Shane argued. "What do you think would happen if she was allowed to go about her merry way? Without consequences, people would simply ignore the law and Soul Society would be thrown into chaos. Is that what you want?"

"I don't expect you to understand," Ichigo said. His face grew serious and silence settled between them.

"You know, Rukia is my friend too," Shane said. "I know she should be punished for her crime, but I don't really want her to die," Ichigo glanced at Shane. "Is this what I get for forming a bond with someone? Is it supposed to hurt, even though it's the right thing to do?" Shane shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Why are you helping me?" Ichigo asked.

Shane shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. "Urahara asked me for a favor and I couldn't say no. When I found out what the favor was, well..." he thought for a minute, then said, "I'll probably be punished for helping you. In fact, I'm not even supposed to be in the Real World right now."

"What?" Ichigo asked, his face wide with surprise. Shane rolled his eyes and told Shane about coming back because of the promise to Tatsuki.

"Oh, I see how it is," Ichigo said, making a sly face. "Getting a little friendly with someone in the Real World, eh?"

Shane let Ichigo's snide comment slide. "Our relationship is no different than your relationship with Rukia," Shane said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, getting defensive.

"Oh come on," Shane said. "A pretty girl falls into your life, changing it forever. You spent so much time with her...alone," Shane smiled at Ichigo, "And here you are, doing everything you can to 'save' her, but I think you really just want to see her again."

Ichigo's mouth hung open in shock. He shook his head and glared at Shane. "It's not like that at all!" he shouted.

"Oh, I believe you," Shane replied, his words dripping with sarcasm. Shane could see the flames burning in Ichigo's eyes and the steam coming out his ears.

"Well, since you are in the mood," Shane said, standing, "Let's get back to training, shall we?"

"I'm going to let you have it good!" Ichigo said. He was waving his Soul Slayer around, ready for action.

Shane walked back to the rock that his Soul Slayer was resting on. He picked them up and closed his eyes as if meditating.

"Did you learn anything?" Shane asked.

"Yes," Tsukuyomi replied. "That boy holds incredible power, more than you realize. His soul is strong and very determined. Beat him up while you can because you might not be able to later on."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Shane said. He opened his eyes and put both blades back in his sash.

"Okay Ichigo, here is the moment you've been waiting for," Shane said, walking back to Ichigo. They stood a few paces apart. Shane saw Ichigo was grinning from ear to ear. "Before we get started, I have a question," Shane asked.

"What's that?" Ichigo replied. He dropped his guard and stood up strait.

"What is the name of your Soul Slayer?" Shane asked.

Ichigo raised his Soul Slayer and stared at it for a moment. "Its name is Zangetsu," Ichigo replied.

Shane thought for a moment, "'Cutting Moon' eh?" he whispered. Shane grasped the handles of his Soul Slayer, one in each hand and slowly pulled them from the sheaths. He held them in a reverse grip, the blades pointing down.

"Would you like to know the name of my Soul Slayer?" Shane asked. Ichigo nodded and Shane whispered, "Here is one moon you won't cut so easily." Shane rotated his hands so the blades were pointing out and touched the ends of the handles together.

"Rise, Tsukuyomi," Shane said softly.

The swords began to glow bright silver and Shane could feel the power resonating from them and from deep inside his soul. It filled him with a warm feeling that revitalized and energized him. The increase of his spirit power had kicked up some loose dirt and blew it away, causing Ichigo to cover his eyes. When it had all cleared away, Ichigo opened his eyes.

He saw that Shane was holding a weapon unlike any he had seen before. It looked like someone had taken two swords and merged them together at the handle. One blade was black with a silver edge. It had a circular guard that was also black. The handle was black with a white wrap. The other blade was silver with a black edge and had a circular guard colored silver. The handle was white with a black wrap.

"This is my Soul Slayer, Tsukuyomi," Shane said. "I can count on one hand how many people have seen Tsukuyomi released like this."

"It is certainly something I've never seen before," Ichigo commented.

"Well, back to work, shall we?" Shane offered. Ichigo grinned and nodded his head.

For the next five days, Shane pounded Ichigo into the dust. Shane began to realize that Ichigo already had the ability to fight, he simply needed experience. Since Ichigo was dead set on going to Soul Society, Shane felt he had to give everything he had so Ichigo would have the smallest chance of surviving in Soul Society, let alone succeed in rescuing Rukia.

On the same note, every hour Shane spent fighting with Ichigo meant the noose was beginning to tighten around his own neck. He began to sense that he was going to be in a lot of trouble, and Captain Ukitake wouldn't be able to save him this time.

 _This is the path you have chosen, now you must walk down it,_ Tsukuyomi kept repeating in Shane's thoughts.

Urahara watched them fight from a distance. He felt something rubbing against his leg and looked down to see a black cat with gold eyes.

"Ah, Yoruichi!" Urahara exclaimed, "How nice of you to come visit me!"

"Cut the crap," Yoruichi replied curtly. Urahara instantly became serious. "How is the training coming?" Yoruichi asked.

"Ah, it seems Ichigo keeps getting stronger and stronger," Urahara said. Yoruichi squinted and asked, "Who's that down there with him?"

"Oh, he's just a shinigami I picked up off the street," Urahara said. A glare from Yoruichi, and Urahara added, "He's friendly with Rukia and seems to know Ichigo. His name is Shane Akiyama from the 13th squad."

Yoruichi watched them fight for a while. "His Soul Slayer is like nothing I've ever seen before and his combat style is also different," Yoruichi commented.

"Shane claims he fought Soifon to a draw," Urahara said and waited for Yoruichi's reaction.

"Is that so?" Yoruichi said. Urahara nodded and Yoruichi frowned and said, "I'll just have to see how good he really is sometime."

Urahara snapped his fingers. "Ah! Since we're on this subject, there is something you should know about Shane."

"Oh? What's that?" Yoruichi asked. Urahara turned and Yoruichi followed him back up to the shop. When Urahara came back after a few hours, he was alone.

"Okay! Splendid job everyone!" Urahara called out as he approached Shane and Ichigo. "That's a wrap!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Don't you remember?" Urahara asked. "It's been ten days since we started. Now you can go home and do whatever. Come back exactly one week from today at one o'clock in the morning."

"So that's it then?" Shane asked. Urahara nodded. "Thank you for helping. You have no idea what this means."

"It means I'm in deep crap when I get back to Soul Society," Shane said.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped then," Urahara sighed. He turned his attention to Ichigo. "I see you are still alive. That's always a good sign," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked. "Don't you have any faith in me?"

"Of course I do!" Urahara said. "Remember, come back in one week. The preparations to go to Soul Society will be complete then."

Shane turned to Ichigo. "I'm sure we'll meet again in Soul Society, but as friends or enemies, I can't say. I wish you well," he said. Ichigo nodded and grinned, then left, leaving Shane and Urahara alone. After a moment of silence, Urahara asked, "So how did he do?"

Shane shrugged. "It's like you said. He can be pretty dense sometimes, but he learns very quickly. He has all the necessary skills, all he needs is experience. Give him time and I honestly think he'll give any of the Captains a run for their money."

"You don't say," Urahara said thoughtfully. He clapped his hands and said, "Well, you've done enough. Go ahead and return to Soul Society."

Shane opened the gate with his Soul Slayer and returned to Soul Society.


	27. Jail Break?

During the following week, Urahara's words gnawed at the back of Shane's mind. "Will Ichigo really come here in one week?" he thought. He decided it was best not to tell anyone. And why not? Shane wasn't sure that he knew the answer himself.

Shane was passing by the 6th squad buildings and a sudden thought struck him. He ducked around a corner and after making sure no one was watching, Shane put his hands together and whispered, "Tsukuyomi New Moon Technique." Shane faded into the shadows and turned his spirit power low enough to not be detected by anyone, but enough to maintain his invisibility. Shane then snuck in the door.

Shane guessed correctly that all the squad buildings followed the same basic floor plan. Shane followed the hallways and down several sets of stairs. Before long, he came to a large iron door that was locked shut. Above the door was a sign that said, "Prisoner Cells." Since Shane didn't have a key for the door lock, he was forced to wait. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. A small, frail looking, male Shinigami holding a broom appeared and unlocked the door. Shane slipped in behind him and let the door shut.

Shane carefully looked in all the cells, but they were all empty, so he continued to follow they young boy with the broom. He stopped in front of a cell at the end of the hall. The boy then pulled out a key, unlocked the cell door, and went inside. Shane heard voices, but he wasn't close enough to hear what was being said. He crept to the edge of the cell and peeked inside. There was a large chair sitting in the middle of the cell, facing the back of the cell. The boy was sweeping the cell and talking to the person sitting in the chair. Before he heard her voice, Shane knew that was Rukia sitting in the chair.

The boy finished his cleaning and began to leave. Shane stood out of the way of the opening cell door, and before the boy shut the door, Shane slipped inside the cell. The cell door clanged shut and the boy locked the door before leaving. Shane heard his footsteps fade and he was now alone with Rukia.

Shane stood there in silence, unsure of what to say. Rukia sat in the chair with her head down and her hands clasped in her lap. She was wearing a simple white robe and a red collar around her neck. Her head was slightly bowed, as if she were thinking of something.

Shane opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally he decided to step out of the shadows. Rukia turned her head and saw Shane standing there. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open.

"Say something, anything," Shane suggested.

"You idiot! What do you think you are doing?" Rukia exploded. "Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if they found you in here?"

"Well fine, if that's the way you feel," Shane huffed and turned to leave.

"Wait," Rukia called out and Shane stopped. He shot her a quick glance and shrugged his shoulders. Rukia rolled her eyes. "I guess a little company wouldn't hurt anyone," she sighed.

Shane walked over and kneeled in front of her. "How have you been?" he asked.

"I've been thinking about how this whole mess started," Rukia said. "All because Ichigo wanted to save his family from a hollow. Now I'm going to die and Ichigo's life is changed forever."

"Do you think this change is for the good?" Shane asked.

"How can any good come of this?" Rukia asked. She clenched her robe tightly in her hands.

Shane gently unclenched her hands and held them in his hands. "What's done is done," he said softly. "That's the thing about the choices we make. We spend no time deciding to do something, then spend the rest of our lives trying to undo our choice."

Rukia sighed and they spent the next few moments in silence. "It's already been decided that I will die," Rukia said. "I wonder what method they will chose."

"If it were up to me, I'd choose death by old age," Shane said, earning a small smile from Rukia. His face became serious as he asked, "So, why did you do it?"

"I don't know," Rukia replied. "It must have been one of those life decisions you were talking about."

"If you could, would you do anything different?" Shane asked.

Rukia shook her head. "I wouldn't change anything. I've led a good life, full of friends and happiness, but also loneliness and sadness."

Shane stood up and looked out the window. He mulled the question over in his mind and struggled with a solution. _Do I tell her and get her hopes up, or do I not tell her?_ he thought. Finally, he said, "It seems a certain someone is trying to see you again."

Rukia's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, just the ravings of a lunatic," Shane said hurriedly. _She's bound to find out sooner or later,_ he thought. He walked past her and stood at the door to the cell. "I'll try to come and see you again, but I can't promise anything," he said. Rukia said nothing and didn't even turn to see him. Shane used his New Moon Technique to pass through the bars of the cell and he made his way out of the 6th Squad barracks.

Shane entered the 13th Squad building and found Itzuma chasing Mika again. Itzuma stopped when she saw him. "Oh, Captain Ukitake is looking for you," Itzuma said.

"And Captain Kuchiki is looking for you I'm sure," Mika pipped up. Itzuma's face twisted in fury and she resumed chasing Mika around the room. Shane shook his head and went to see the captain.

He reached the door to Captain Ukitake's room and kneeled down. He knocked on the door and slid the door open. Captain Ukitake was at his desk with his back to Shane. He appeared to be writing something.

"Excuse me sir, but I was told you wanted to see me?" Shane said. Captain Ukitake turned around and smiled when he saw Shane. "Oh please come in!" he said. Shane stood up and gently closed the door behind him. Captain Ukitake turned around on his little pillow and Shane kneeled in front of him.

"What do you know about Bankai?" Captain Ukitake asked.

Shane gave him a curious look. "I've never heard of it," he said.

"Well, you know about the Initial Release, or Shikai of a Soul Slayer correct?" Captain Ukitake asked.

Shane shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure what you are talking about," he said.

Captain Ukitake sighed. "My, my. What do they teach you in school these days?" he muttered. He brightened and said, "Well, then I'll tell you."

Captain Ukitake cleared his throat and started talking. "Ordinarily, a Soul Slayer resembles a normal katana, with slight variations depending on the person and Soul Slayer. Each Soul Slayer is different because the Soul Slayer represents a physical part of the person's soul. To achieve 'Shikai', or 'Initial Release,' one must be able to communicate with their Soul Slayer and learn its name. Once you have accomplished this, your Soul Slayer will usually change its shape and ability to fit the nature of the Soul Slayer."

"I think I understand that part of it okay," Shane said. "I already know my Soul Slayer's name."

"Would you mind showing me then?" Captain Ukitake asked. "I've heard your Soul Slayer is quite unique."

Shane pulled his swords out in a reverse grip and held his hands in front of him. "Rise, Tsukuyomi," Shane said and touched the ends together. Captain Ukitake waited for his eyes to clear from the bright light and looked in amazement.

"Ah, yes," he said. He held his hand out and asked, "May I?" Shane nodded and handed Tsukuyomi to Ukitake, who gently rubbed his hands over the weapon.

"I've never seen one quite like this before," he said, turning Tsukuyomi over in his hands. "I noticed that your Soul Slayer exists as a pair in its sealed state," he added.

"Yeah, well, I always thought that was a little strange. Most everyone I've seen only has one sword for a Soul Slayer," Shane said. Ukitake's eyes gleamed. "Then let me be the first to welcome you to an exclusive club," he said.

"What?" Shane asked.

"Oh nothing," Ukitake said. He handed Tsukuyomi back to Shane. "I see you have achieved Shikai," Ukitake said, "but have you talked to your Soul Slayer's spirit?"

Shane gave Ukitake a strange look. "Please explain," he said.

"You Soul Slayer also has a spirit," Ukitake explained. "When you speak to your Soul Slayer, you are talking to its spirit. As each Soul Slayer is different, the spirit will manifest in a particular form. The spirit could resemble an animal, a person or anything."

Shane thought for a moment. "Oh, so that's what that was," he said as the light of realization blinked on.

 _Wow, that took you a while,_ Tsukuyomi whispered in Shane's head.

"Oh shut up," Shane muttered.

"What was that?" Ukitake asked, slightly confused.

"Nothing. It's all right," Shane said, shaking his head.

"If Shikai is about communicating with the Soul Slayer's spirit, Bankai is forcing the Soul Slayer's spirit to submit to your will. When this happens, a Soul Slayer is said to reach its full power. However, subjugating a Soul Slayer's spirit is not easy, as they often share traits of the wielder. For example, if a person is strong willed, the Soul Slayer's spirit will also be strong willed. This can be most difficult, since people who are alike rarely get along," Ukitake explained.

"So that's it?" Shane asked, "All I have to do is get Tsukuyomi to submit to me and I will have full control of our power?" Ukitake nodded. "But what's the catch?" Shane asked.

"Of all the Shinigami in Soul Society, only a handful have the level of spirit power to achieve bankai. As far as I know, only the current captains, except for maybe one or two, are able to achieve bankai. And it takes hundreds of years of combat experience and ten years of special training to fully master bankai," Ukitake said.

"So it's actually pretty rare for someone to achieve bankai," Shane said and Ukitake nodded. "Why are you telling me this?" Shane asked, "You think I can acheive bankai?"

Ukitake shrugged. "I never said you could or would be able to, I simply asked if you knew about shikai and bankai." He became serious and added, "In all honesty, I don't know what to do with you or your skills. You are better suited for the SMC, but for some reason, you were given to me. You aren't a seated officer, nor are you apart of any division or squad. You are a member of 13th Squad on paper only. With all the free time you seem to have, you should use it for something useful."

"Like training to achieve bankai?" Shane asked, being half sarcastic.

"If you prove unable to reach bankai, at least you will be training what skills you do have and reaching a better understanding of your Soul Slayer and yourself," Ukitake said.

Shane stood up to leave when Ukitake said, "Oh, wait a moment please," and turned back to his desk. Shane waited patiently and asked, "What is it?"

"I have a mission for you," Ukitake said, turning around. "It seems a Hollow in the Real World has been creating quite a stir. Find the hollow and take care of it."

Shane took the slip of paper from the captain and read its contents. "This hollow is in Rukia's old patrol area," he said.

Ukitake nodded. "I recommended you for this mission because you are familiar with the area and should have no trouble."

"I'll leave when my preparations are complete," Shane said. He bowed and left Captain Ukitake's room.


	28. Inner Demons

Within the hour, Shane was back in Karakura Town, jumping through the air and searching for any sign of the hollow. He stopped on top of a telephone pole and looked at his phone. "Still nothing, eh?" he commented. He looked around and put his phone away before jumping off again.

The sun was going down and Shane still had no idea where the hollow was. He was standing on top of a tall building and looking out across the town. "This is starting to make me angry," he said to himself. A light breeze pulled at his robes and he sat on the edge of the building. Off on the horizon, the moon was beginning to rise. Shane watched the moon for a while, then his mind began to wander and he stared off into space.

"What are you doing?" someone asked, startling Shane. He looked around and blinked a few times. Somehow, a dense fog had settled around him that blocked out most of the light. Shane stood up and waved his hands around. "Is someone out there?" he called out.

"Why do you ask if you already know the answer?" the voice asked. Shane frowned and thought the voice sounded familiar. "Who are you?" he called out.

"I told you that you already know who I am!" the voice repeated angrily. This put Shane on edge and he began to look around cautiously. After a moment of silence, Shane heard footsteps approaching. He stared into the fog, but could not see anything. Shane felt his pulse quicken and his breathing became rapid and shallow. He reached to his waist and was surprised to find his Soul Slayer was missing. He began to search the ground franticly, trying to remember if he had somehow dropped his Soul Slayer. But the fog was too thick and after a while, Shane gave up looking. He sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands.

"Look at me!" the voice commanded. Shane jerked his head up and saw a shadowy figure standing before him. Shane's mouth fell open.

"Get on your feet!" the figure shouted. Shane scrambled to his feet. They stood a short distance from each other and Shane felt a tingle run down his spine that made him shiver.

"You disgust me," the voice hissed. Shane blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Are you deaf too?" the shadow shouted. "I said you are worthless! You shouldn't even be alive, much less a Death God.

"You don't even know me," Shane said angrily, "How can you even say such things?"

"Know you? Ha!" the shadow scoffed, "I AM you!"

The dense fog began to disappear and Shane's eyes grew wide. The figure wore a long robe with a deep hood that hid the details of its face in darkness. It was tall and reeked of fear and death.

Suddenly, an arm reached out and grabbed Shane by the neck, causing Shane to cry out. It lifted Shane off the ground with little effort. Shane grabbed at the shadow's arm, trying in vain to free himself.

"Why are you struggling?" it asked. "The more you struggle, the worse it becomes." It pulled Shane closer until they were looking eye to eye.

"What are you?" Shane gasped.

"What am I?" the figure asked. "I am your worst nightmare. I am your deepest pain. I am the thing you fear the most. I am your despair, your uncertainty. I am everything you think you hate. I am your darkest feelings and your burning hatred. I am everything bad that has ever happened to you." The shadow paused. "I am in the deepest corner of your heart, but closer than you realize." The shadow released its grip and Shane collapsed on the ground coughing.

"No matter how much you struggle, you will never be rid of me," the figure said, then faded away in the fog.

Shane gasped and bolted upright. He quickly looked around and realized he was back on top of the building. Shane rubbed his hands over his face. "I must have fallen asleep," he said. Just then, the wind picked up, causing Shane to shiver and he thought he heard faint evil laughter. He slowly looked around, but saw nothing.

"Perhaps I wasn't dreaming at all," he said quietly. Shane sat down and thought about what the shadowy figure had said to him. "My worst nightmare? My darkest feelings and burning hatred? What does that all mean?" Shane asked himself. _You will never be rid of me_ echoed in his mind. Shane sighed and put his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do anymore," he lamented. Just then, his phone beeped. Shane pulled it out of his robe and looked at the screen. "There seems to be a source of strong Spirit Energy in that area," he said. "If I were a hollow, that's where I'd be." He stood up and followed the phone's directions.

Shane found that the center of the disturbance was the center of a large field near the edge of town. He carefully noted his surroundings, wary of any surprises. Seeing nothing, he began a search of the area. "Since there is no hollow, perhaps I can find the source of the Spirit Energy," he thought. Shane put his hands on his hips and wondered where to start. He looked around and noticed the moon was almost directly overhead.

"Why hello there," Shane said to the moon, "You look especially bright tonight,"

"Thank you," Tsukuyomi whispered in Shane's mind. Shane rolled his eyes and a sudden thought struck him. He closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened his eyes, Shane found himself back in the endless field, the wind blowing the clouds through the sky.

"Why have you come here?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"I have some questions and I thought you might know the answers," Shane replied.

"Speak," Tsukuyomi commanded. Shane paused for a moment, trying to compose his jumbled thoughts. "Earlier today, I was sitting on a building and I suddenly found myself surrounded by a dense fog. A shadowy figure approached and said some very disturbing things to me," Shane managed to say.

"What did they say?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"It said that it was my fear, anger, sadness, and all my dark feelings and no matter how hard I tried, the shadow would never go away," Shane said. Thinking about his experience troubled him and his brow furrowed. "What does this mean?" Shane asked.

Tsukuyomi said nothing. After a long silence, Shane said, "You're not helping very much,"

Tsukuyomi turned, pointed to the sky and asked, "What do you see?" Shane looked to where Tsukuyomi was pointing and replied, "The moon."

"Describe what you see," Tsukuyomi said. Shane's eyebrow raise in confusion. "Uh, I see the moon. It is big and bright, giving light to the darkness."

"Is that all you see?" Tsukuyomi asked. Shane threw his hands in the air. "Where are you going with this?" he asked. Tsukuyomi clapped his hands and everything went dark.

"Hey, what did you do?" Shane called out. He looked around, but saw nothing. He didn't try to move, for fear of running into something or falling over. "Hello, are you there?" he called out. As his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, Shane began to see that it wasn't completely dark. He saw many faint points of light and ahead of him, he saw the outline of a large circle. He could see that it was old and battered looking, covered in scars and craters.

"What is going on here?" Shane thought to himself. "And what is that over there?"

A faint voice echoed in his head, _Fear, darkness, anger, despair, depression, suffering, pain, and death._ Shane realized it was the same voice as the shadowy figure that assaulted him earlier and he shivered. He felt his anger begin to build.

"I don't get it, okay?" he shouted. "I'm tired of this stupid game! Somebody tell me what is going on!"

"Aw, is somebody getting upset?" the voice mocked. Shane looked around, but saw nothing. "Yeah, I'm getting pretty tired of these petty games," he called out.

"You just don't get it do you?" the voice said. "I already told you who I was, but you refuse to listen."

"So just tell me then," Shane said. The voice laughed. "It doesn't quite work that way," it said. "Someday, you will understand. But until then, you will be stumbling in the darkness." With that, everything went black.

Shane opened his eyes and he was back in the Real World. He looked up at the moon and shook his fist. "Thanks for nothing," he said.

Shane heard footsteps in the grass and turned to see a little girl walking toward him. He saw she had a faint glow around her and a broken chain attached to her chest. She stopped a few feet in front of him. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Shane," he introduced himself and kneeled down. "What is your name?"

"Rin," the girl replied. She was wearing a blue checkered dress, had long brown hair and big green eyes. Shane smiled and held his hand out to her. "What are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked.

"I don't know," Rin replied. "I think I died out here or something." She looked around and her eyes began to quiver.

"Don't worry," Shane assured her. "Let's look around and see if we can find anything, okay?" He stood up and Rin took his hand and they walked around the field, hand in hand.

"I think I see something over there," Rin said after several minutes of searching. She led Shane near the center of the field and Shane bent over to look. "It seems the ground here was recently disturbed," he said. He put his hand on the ground, then quickly jerked it back as if something had stung him.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Rin asked. Shane frowned and pulled out his phone. He pressed a few buttons and held it close to the disturbed ground. He read the screen and hung his head.

"Hey, what is it?" Rin asked. She put her hands on Shane's shoulders and gently shook him. "What's wrong?"

"It seems that someone was recently buried here," Shane said quietly. Rin stepped back and put her hand to her face. "Is it me?" she asked fearfully. Shane looked at her, his eyes full of compassion. Rin began to cry.

"Don't worry," Shane said. "I'm here to send you to a better place. A place where you can be happy all the time." He felt slightly guilty telling her that.

"I think my parents will miss me," Rin sobbed. She sniffed and dried wiped her face with her hand. "Will you come visit me?" she asked.

"Of course," Shane replied, drawing his Soul Slayer. Before he could perform the Soul Burial, Shane's senses exploded with warning. Shane grabbed Rin and jumped away, just as the ground around them exploded. He landed several feet away and set Rin on the ground.

"What happened?" Rin asked. Shane ignored her and looked back to where they had just been standing.

"Oh, so you got away?" a sinister voice called out. The dust cleared and Shane saw a large hollow standing there. It had a long, skinny body, short legs and four long, spindly arms. Its mask had small slits for the eye holes and a long horn in the center of its forehead. The hollow had dark colored skin. It sniffed several times and said, "Mmm, that soul is particularly tasty. And I get my first taste of a Death God!" It looked at Shane and sniffed. Its eyes narrowed and sniffed again. "Perhaps you are not a Death God after all," the hollow said. "But I'll eat your soul anyway!"

Rin began to shake with fear. "That monster has been chasing me!" she said.

"Rin, close your eyes and don't look no matter what happens," Shane said, drawing his Soul Slayer. Rin looked fearfully up at him. "Okay," she said and Shane walked forward to meet the hollow. Rin squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears, trying to shut out the terrible noise of the battle. When she didn't hear anything for a while, she slowly opened her eyes and uncovered her ears. She saw the ground was torn up as a result of the fight, but she didn't see Shane or the hollow. Rin began to panic and yelped when a hand touched her on the shoulder.

"Careful! Everything is going to be okay now," Shane assured her. Rin jumped on Shane and held him tightly. Shane smiled and patted her on the head. "Are you ready to go to Soul Society now?" he asked.

"Yes," Rin nodded. Shane touched the end of his Soul Slayer to her forehead. A faint blue glow surrounded her and before she disappeared, Rin said, "Don't forget to come visit me!"

"I won't," Shane promised and watched as a black butterfly fluttered away with its special cargo.

Shane sighed and pulled out his phone. He pressed a button and waited for the call to connect. "Captain sir, everything has been taken care of," Shane reported and hung up. Shane pulled out his Soul Slayer, unlocked the gate, and went back to Soul Society.


	29. Self Discovery

Shane returned to Soul Society and found everything in chaos. Shinigami were running around, yelling instructions and talking excitedly. Shane thought this was odd and he made his way to the 13th Squad Headquarters. He reached Captain Ukitake's room and was about to knock when the door suddenly opened and both Third Seats ran out of the room, nearly running into Shane. He was about to say something when Captain Ukitake appeared in the door.

"Oh, I see you've returned. Good work," Captain Ukitake said.

"Thank you sir," Shane said. Ukitake looked up and down the hall and motioned for Shane to enter.

"I noticed there was a lot of activity when I returned," Shane said, kneeling on the floor.

Ukitake nodded. "It seems that shortly after you left, several ryoka (souls not sent to Soul Society by Death Gods) tried to enter through one of the gates after defeating the gate guard. Captain Ichimaru forced them out," Ukitake said.

Shane nodded his head in understanding. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing for now," Ukitake said. "There is a Captain's Meeting later today and we'll discuss what has happened. Until then, there is nothing to do but wait."

Shane left the captain's quarters and immediately started thinking. He left the barracks and began talking to people and asking questions. He learned that one of the ryoka had defeated the gate guard with an unusual looking sword and had bright orange hair.

Shane went to his room and thought about what he had learned. "Ichigo made it here, eh?" he thought. "I wonder if anyone came with him?" Shane looked out the window and stared off in the distance. "I wonder what will happen now?"

From that point, time seemed to travel in fast forward. Three days later, the ryoka spirits succeeded in breaching the outer barrier and entered the Court of Pure Souls (the part of Soul Society where the Shinigami live). Shane watched, along did the rest of Soul Society, as four points of light separated and landed in different parts. Shane quickly jumped on a tall building and looked around. He could see clouds of dust kicked up from the impacts.

"That guy certainly knows how to make an entrance," Shane thought. He carefully studied the different directions and monitored the spirit power of each. He centered on one and said, "That's probably where Ichigo is." Shane took off in that direction.

When he arrived, he found the remains of a fight. Several walls were knocked down and the ground was cracked and cratered. A bald Death God was lying on the ground unconscious. "Must have just missed him then," Shane decided and took off again.

Hours later, Shane still hadn't found Ichigo. Night fell and he gave up searching. He sat up on Soukyoku Hill and looked out across all of Soul Society.

"Seems like such a small place from way up here," Shane said. He looked up at the sky and watched the clouds float lazily across the sky. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Tsukuyomi approach. "What are you doing up here?" Tsukuyomi asked.

Shane looked at the moon and thought for a moment. "I have no idea," he finally said.

"What do you want most?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"I have no idea," Shane repeated. "My mind is a jumbled mess and I have no idea what to do or think."

"Sitting here won't help you," Tsukuyomi said sternly and clapped. Shane winced at the sound and he found himself surrounded by blackness. "Not this again," he groaned.

"Silence!" a voice roared and Shane closed his mouth. "I've been watching you for a long time, hoping you would open your ears and hear my voice," the voice continued.

"Is that you, Tsukuyomi?" Shane asked. "If it is you, then I don't get what's going on here."

There was no reply. Shane sighed and looked around. Everywhere he looked, there was darkness. Shane waved his hand in front of his face, but saw nothing. In the back of his mind, Shane remembered what the strange voice had said to him earlier. "Darkness and despair?" he thought, suddenly becoming very cold. "Am I trapped in the darkest corner of my mind, my soul?"

A bright light shone down on him and Shane squinted his eyes and put his hands over his face. He blinked and saw someone walking toward him. When they came closer, Shane saw it was Tsukuyomi. "What is this all about?" Shane asked.

Tsukuyomi said nothing and slowly turned around. Shane's eyes went wide and he let out a gasp. As Tsukuyomi turned around, the shadowy figure in the dark cloak appeared.

"Ah, so he's not as dumb as he looks," the shadow hissed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Shane asked. Tsukuyomi appeared from behind the shadow and stood next to it. The three of them stood there staring at each other. Shane rubbed his chin while lost in thought. Finally he said, "I think I get it now." He sat down and Tsukuyomi and the shadow did the same. Shane closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were sitting in the snow atop the tall mountain with the moon shining brightly down on them.

"A shinigami's Soul Slayer is the physical form of the shinigami's soul. Each Soul Slayer is different because all shinigami are all different." Shane looked to Tsukuyomi and the shadow. "When I think about my Soul Slayer, this all makes sense now." He pointed at Tsukuyomi and said, "You are my Soul Slayer." To the shadow, he said, "And you are Tsukuyomi also." Both nodded in agreement.

"This part of Tsukuyomi represents all of the good things about me," Shane said, pointing to Tsukuyomi. "But you represent all my inner turmoil and conflict," he said and pointed to the shadow.

"So he's finally starting to understand now," Dark Tsukuyomi hissed.

Shane thought for a moment and said, "So on one side, you have the light, and the other side is darkness." Shane held his hands out in front of him. "Two entirely separate things, but when you put them together, you have one complete entity," Shane said and clasped his hands together, emphasizing his point.

"Bravo," Dark Tsukuyomi applauded sarcastically. "I always knew you were smarter than you looked."

"But what I don't understand is why didn't I know about this from the start?" Shane asked.

"And I retract my previous statement," Dark Tsukuyomi sighed and stared at Shane. "In the beginning, I too called out to you, but you didn't acknowledge me. For a long time I have waited, hoping you would hear my voice."

Shane hung his head and said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry!" Dark Tsukuyomi scoffed. "The reason you couldn't hear my voice is because you weren't ready."

"What do you mean?" Shane asked.

"Only with time and maturity, can one face his inner most self, his darkness. If I had appeared to you before now, you would have become unstable and a danger to yourself and others," Dark Tsukuyomi said.

"I feel like I have no purpose, no direction in life," Shane said. "All my thoughts and feelings are like a jumbled mess. My mind feels blank most of the time. I don't know what I want."

"That is a step in the right direction," Light Tsukuyomi said.

"Huh?" Shane said.

"What we mean is, the fact that you know you have no clue what's going on with yourself right now means that you are ready to take another step in your journey of being a Death God." Dark Tsukuyomi explained.

"You mean bankai?" Shane asked.

"What? Oh heck no!" Dark Tsukuyomi exasperated. "What makes you think you can do that when you've only begun to master just one half of the power you're capable of?"

Light and Dark Tsukuyomi stood and faced Shane. "We will now show you the way," they said together.

Shane blinked and he was now standing in the field of endless grass. The light breeze pulled at his clothes and whispered through the grass. Overhead, the moon shone bright and full with clouds floating across the sky. Some distance away, Light and Dark Tsukuyomi stood together, both holding a sword. "Prepare yourself!" both said, their voices booming across the vast distance. Shane clenched his fists in anticipation.

Light Tsukuyomi rushed forward and attacked. Shane dodged the blows and counterattacked when he was able. He noticed the sword Light Tsukuyomi held resembled the white bladed half of his Soul Slayer. While they were fighting, Shane heard a voice in his head that asked, "What am I?"

"You are my thoughts and my dreams," Shane thought, "You are the good part that dwells in my heart. This is what others see when they look at me."

Light Tsukuyomi jumped back a few steps, then charged in and swung with tremendous force.

 _CLANG!_ The sound of steel on steel echoed through the distance. In Shane's hands was a sword similar to Light Tsukuyomi's. They stared at each other for a second, then Light Tsukuyomi jumped back and landed next to Dark Tsukuyomi and kneeled.

Dark Tsukuyomi raised the sword to the sky, then pointed it at Shane. Shane gripped his sword tightly in his hands and waited. Dark Tsukuyomi sneered, then disappeared. Shane's eye's went wide and he turned to look behind him, barely bringing his sword up in time to block Dark Tsukuyomi's blow.

"Now the fun begins," Dark Tsukuyomi grinned and disappeared again. Shane looked around, scanning the area with alert eyes, never dropping his guard. He heard a faint rustling of grass and brought his sword up, blocking the blow. Shane listened again for the sound of the grass and was able to avoid serious injury.

Dark Tsukuyomi suddenly appeared in front of him and Shane tensed, waiting. When nothing happened, Shane relaxed a little, but didn't drop his guard. Dark Tsukuyomi then moved in and began to hammer Shane with vicious blows.

 _So powerful_ , Shane thought, gritting his teeth. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. Shane felt himself being pushed back by Dark Tsukuyomi's unrelenting attack.

"What am I?" Dark Tsukuyomi's voice rang in Shane's head. "You are my pain and fear, my darkest feelings," Shane thought. "You reside deep within my heart and soul. You are what I see when I look at myself." They locked swords and stared at each other. Dark Tsukuyomi's face held no emotion and Shane winced under the pressure. Dark Tsukuyomi gave a quick push and Shane flew back, landing in the grass. He sat up and looked at Dark Tsukuyomi.

"You know what I am," Dark Tsukuyomi said in Shane's thoughts. "But you still don't understand!" Dark Tsukuyomi leapt into the air and Shane scrambled out of the way, just as Dark Tsukuyomi impacted the ground, sending dirt and grass flying everywhere. Shane waved the dust out of his face and Dark Tsukuyomi flew out of the dust cloud and attacked Shane again.

 _I don't really understand what this is about,_ Shane thought as Dark Tsukuyomi began to pummel him. _I guess this is what they mean when they talk about facing your inner demons._ Dark Tsukuyomi feinted a sword strike and kicked Shane hard in the gut. Shane gasped as the air escaped his lungs.

 _Are my negative feelings really this strong?_ Shane asked himself. _How do people live carrying such a heavy weight on their hearts? How do you counter such negative emotions?_ Dark Tsukuyomi brought his sword down in an overhead strike and Shane made a feeble attempt to block. The heavy blow pushed though Shane's defense and made a deep cut across his body. Blood began pouring from the wound.

 _They say that light and dark are equal opposites, so why does the darkness always seem that much stronger?_ Shane's thoughts echoed in his mind. _How is it then that the light always seems to beat the darkness?_ Dark Tsukuyomi backhanded Shane across the face, breaking his nose and sending blood spurting.

 _It's not about darkness being stronger than light or good always beating evil. Everyone has good and bad things about them. It's about achieving balance between the light and dark. It's about taking your weaknesses and turning them into strengths. It's understanding how the two halves make the whole person._

Shane was covered in bruises and bleeding from cuts all over. His hands were slick with blood and he had trouble keeping a grip on his sword. Every breath caused him pain from bruised or broken ribs. Shane was unsteady on his feet and his vision blurred. Dark Tsukuyomi dealt another blow that knocked the sword out of Shane's hand. The blade flew through the air and stuck itself into the ground a short distance away. Shane slumped over, hanging his head low. Dark Tsukuyomi raised the sword overhead, ready to deal the final strike.

 _It's about realizing and understanding your inner darkness..._

Dark Tsukuyomi's sword began to fall, flashing in the moonlight. Light Tsukuyomi's head bowed, eyes closed.

... _and not letting it consume you._

The fatal strike never fell. Light Tsukuyomi's head raised and watched. Dark Tsukuyomi's arm was still raised in the air, but it was held tightly at the wrist by Shane.

"I get it now," Shane said softly. "You and Light Tsukuyomi are the two halves that make me whole." Shane slowly raised his head. "I know I have a lot of problems and dark feelings inside me. Please, help me understand those feelings buried deep in my soul." Shane's head fell and blood dripped on the grass. "Help me understand so we can become stronger."

Dark Tsukuyomi said nothing. Shane's grip loosened and his arm fell limp at his side. Dark Tsukuyomi stepped back and Shane teetered for a second, then fell on his face. Light Tsukuyomi appeared next to Dark Tsukuyomi and said, "It is done." Dark Tsukuyomi looked to the moon and said nothing.


	30. A Gathering Storm

When Shane woke up, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked several times and looked around. He was lying in a bed, surrounded by a privacy curtain. Shane lay back and stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. _What happened to me?_

The sound of the curtain being pulled back brought Shane back to reality. His visitor turned out to be Olivia. She was carrying a tray with food and water. When she saw he was a wake, her face brightened. "Oh, nice to finally see you awake!" she said cheerily.

"What happened to me?" Shane asked groggily. Olivia kneeled at his side and set the tray down. "We found you unconscious on Soukyoku Hill and brought you here. You had a fever and were muttering in your sleep. You gave us quite a scare," she explained.

"Where am I and how long have I been here?" Shane asked.

"Well, you're in the Relief Station and you've been here about a week I'd say," Olivia replied. Shane stared at the ceiling. _A whole week, eh?_ he thought. "Could you please let me in on what I've missed?" Shane asked and Olivia spent the next few minutes telling Shane what had been happening in Soul Society. Shane was shocked to hear that the 5th Squad Captain, Souske Aizen, had apparently been murdered and the ryoka were to blame. He was instantly suspicious, but said nothing. Olivia suddenly became very quiet. "They moved Rukia's execution up again," she said softly. "She's going to be put to death in three days."

"Three days?" Shane asked and Olivia nodded. "Well, I can't sit around here anymore," Shane said and slowly sat up.

"Hey, you need to take it easy," Olivia warned, but Shane shrugged her off. "I'll be fine," he said. Shane looked at Olivia out of the corner of his eye. "You've been taking care of me this whole time?" he asked. Olivia smiled and nodded. Shane leaned over and gave her a quick hug. "You always seem to be taking care of me," he said.

"Well, someone has to," Olivia said, and watched him leave.

Shane wandered outside the Relief Station and wondered what to do next. He put his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky. Tsukuyomi's voice echoed in his head. _Very soon, something terrible and amazing will happen. When you witness this sight, things will become clear._

"What do you mean?" Shane mumbled. Off in the distance, he saw Lieutenant Renji Abari sneaking off in the shadows. Shane became curious and followed without being seen. Renji made his way to the base of Soukyoku Hill and away from normal traffic areas. Shane frowned and wondered what he was up to. Renji stopped, looked around and stepped behind a large bolder. When he didn't reappear, Shane counted to ten and quietly walked up to the bolder and peeked around.

"Where did he go?" Shane asked and stood up. He walked behind the bolder and looked up. Soukyoku Hill towered far above. On instinct, Shane reached out and was mildly surprised to find his hand disappeared into the hill side. "An invisible door. I bet I know who made this," he said and walked in.

Shane looked around and found himself in a large area not unlike the one beneath Urahara's shop. The only difference was, instead of sky, rock towered above him, as if someone had hollowed out Soukyoku Hill. In front of him stood a woman he didn't recognize. She had long dark hair that was tied in a pony tail that reached past her waist. She wore a dark, tight fitting body suit that clung to her slender frame and an orange sweater. She seemed preoccupied watching something below.

Shane cautiously made his way forward and looked below. There were numerous swords of all shapes and sizes sticking in the ground. He heard the ring of steel and saw two people engaged in a furious duel. A flash of orange hair and Shane realized it was Ichigo.

The woman watched Shane out of the corner of her eye. Shane stole a glance and saw she had dark skin and was wearing an orange sweatshirt.

"Who are you and how did you find this place?" she asked sternly.

Shane thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth. "I followed Lieutenant Abari here," he said. She stared at him and waited. "My name is Shane Akiyama of Squad 13," he added.

She turned back to watching Ichigo. "What do you want?" she asked.

Shane shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I really didn't know what to expect when I followed Lieutenant Abari."

"Did it ever occur to you that perhaps you are trespassing?" she asked.

"If you want me to leave, then say so," Shane said and he turned to leave.

"Wait," she called out and Shane halted in mid stride. "Answer me this. Before you were in Squad 13, were you in the Secret Mobile Corps. under Captain Soifon?"

Shane turned around. "Yes. How did you know?" She turned and flashed a grin. "I hear you fought Soifon to a draw."

Shane shook his head. "We were only sparring."

She cocked her head, still smiling, "Well, wanna spar a little?"

"I don't have anything better to do," Shane said. "Sure, I'll fight with you,"

The mysterious woman was grinning from ear to ear. "I've heard a lot about you," she said.

"Strange that you know things about me, but I know nothing about you," Shane replied. He watched her warily as they slowly circled each other.

"Well, let's just see how good you really are," she said and disappeared. Shane realized she was using flash steps and he quickly ducked and rolled to his right, just as she reappeared where he had been standing. Just as quickly, she was gone again. Shane used his own flash steps to barely keep ahead of her. _She's better at this than I am,_ Shane thought. _I get the feeling she's toying with me. Better do something quick._ He stopped, waited a split second and punched forward. Shane felt two slender hands grab his wrist and he countered, breaking the hold. They were now engaged in hand to hand combat and evenly matched.

Their duel continued in this manner, each using flash steps and hand to hand to try and gain the upper hand. Shane finally had her in a submission hold, but she had put herself in a position to deal a death blow, thus their fight ended in a draw.

Shane released his hold and they backed off several steps. Both were breathing heavy and had minor scratches and bruises.

"Wow, that was a good workout," she said, grinning again. "But I'm a little rusty after nearly 100 years of not fighting."

Shane's mouth fell. "You call that rusty?" He threw his hands in the air and she laughed. Shane turned to face her and asked, "So, if you don't mind, could you tell me your name?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, since you fought well, I guess I'll tell you," she said. She stood up tall and folded her arms across her chest. "My name is Yoruichi Shihouin," she said.

Shane thought for a moment, then the light came on. "As in the former commander of the SMC?" he asked. Yoruichi nodded. Shane fell to his knees and bowed out of respect. "Your family is one of the Four Noble Families of Soul Society," Shane said. "And if I remember correctly, your family makes weapons and gadgets for Death God use, right?"

"That is correct," Yoruichi said.

"If it's not too much trouble, may I make a request?" Shane asked.

"What is it?" Yoruichi asked. Shane made his request and she thought for a moment and asked, "Why do you require such an item?"

"I think something very important is going to happen and I want to be prepared for all circumstances," Shane replied. He paused and added, "I might have to fight someone and I don't think I can win on my own."

When Yoruichi didn't say anything, Shane figured that meant "no." Feeling dejected, Shane said, "I'm sorry to have bothered you and Ichigo's training." Still staring at the ground, Shane saw two feet appear in his vision.

"First, I want you to stand up so I can look at you," Yoruichi said and Shane rose to his feet. "I never liked the whole nobility thing, so you can be as informal as you like," Yoruichi said and Shane relaxed. She grinned and said, "I knew I liked you, from the first time I saw you."

"That was, like, ten minutes ago," Shane pointed out.

Yoruichi shook her head. "I don't mean now, I meant back in the Real World outside that small store."

"Huh?" Shane asked, giving her a dumb look.

"Geez," Yoruichi exasperated, "Perhaps you aren't as smart as you look. It must be the glasses that make you look intelligent."

Shane rolled his eyes and said, "Anyway, you were saying?"

"That day outside the store, you met a stray cat. You bought it some milk right?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Shane said nodding. After a second of thought, he added, "Hey, wait a minute. How do you know about that?"

Yoruichi smiled and said, "That was me!"

"How is that possible? Wait, never mind, I probably don't want to know," Shane said. "If it means anything, you look very nice as a cat. Especially the eyes. I liked the whole, golden eyes thing."

"I appreciate the compliment," Yoruichi said. Shane turned to look down below and saw Ichigo was still fighting with the strange man. "Who's Ichigo fighting down there?" he asked.

"That is his Soul Slayer's spirit in material form," Yoruichi replied.

"What are they doing?" Shane asked.

"Ichigo is training to achieve Bankai," Yoruichi said. Shane watched them fight and asked, "Is it always like that?"

Yoruichi shook her head. "It depends on the Soul Slayer's spirit. Them fighting like that is the way that Zangetsu chose."

Shane watched them for a while longer, then said, "I guess I'd better be going. Not that I have anything better to do."

"I'll see what I can do about your request," Yoruichi said. Shane thanked her and turned to leave. He was half way to the entrance and stopped. Without turning around, he said, "Rukia will die in three days. Will Ichigo be ready by then?"

Yoruichi closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know," she said. Shane said nothing and left. Yoruichi watched him leave. "You were right Urahara, he certainly is quite a character." she said. She frowned and turned back to watch Ichigo. "Will you be ready?" she whispered. "Will any of us be ready?"


	31. Final Preparations

The next few days passed in a blur. Shane spent the time in meditation and thought about the events of the past several months. At night, Shane watched the moon from his window and sometimes he thought he could hear Tsukuyomi whispering to him. He began to feel restless, unsure of what to do. The building tension became almost unbearable.

"I hate waiting," Shane sighed. _We know,_ Tsukuyomi whispered in his head. Shane stared off into space and thought, _Am I prepared for what will happen? Probably not._ Shane's eyes closed and he nodded off.

"Hey! Wake up!" someone shouted. Shane instantly woke up and looked around. It was night and the sky was dark and moonless. He glanced around his room and noticed a shadow standing in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked. Shane shrugged and replied, "I don't know. Waiting, I guess."

"Waiting for what?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked.

"Couldn't tell you," Shane replied.

After a moment of silence, Dark Tsukuyomi said, "You're pretty pathetic, you know,"

Shane raised an eyebrow, "So you keep reminding me," he said.

"Instead of sitting here thinking about things that might or might not happen, why don't you get up and do something?" Dark Tsukuyomi suggested.

Shane thought for a moment. "Like what?" Dark Tsukuyomi leaned over until their faces were inches apart. "You're smart, you figure it out."

Shane stared at Dark Tsukuyomi and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Hello? Anybody home in there?" Dark Tsukuyomi growled and knocked Shane on the head a few times. "What do you normally do when you meet someone for the first time?" Dark Tsukuyomi stood back and sighed. "Honestly, I don't see why my other half puts up with you."

Shane mumbled under his breath and rubbed his head. "Okay, I get it now," he said. He stood up and said, "Is there anywhere you want to go?"

"I have an idea," Dark Tsukuyomi replied with a grin.

Minutes later, Shane was standing up on Soukyoku Hill. Since there was no moon visible, the stars seemed especially bright and Shane noticed some he hadn't seen before. Shane looked out over all of Soul Society that he could see and took a deep breath.

"Feel better now?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked sarcastically. Shane ignored the comment. "So, here we are, now what?" Shane asked.

"What do you know about us?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked.

"Well, you exist as a pair of swords instead of a single sword. You are also built different than a normal Soul Slayer. You have a shorter and straighter blade, which makes you ideal for close quarter combat and quick draw," Shane replied.

"What type of Soul Slayer are we?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked. "Are we an attack type, defense type, fire type, ice type? What are we?"

"I'd have to say an attack and defense type," Shane said.

"Why?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked.

"Well, consider some of your abilities," Shane said. "The 'Full Moon Technique' increases my speed and attack power, while the 'New Moon Technique' allows me to become like a shadow and hide my spirit aura."

"Wow. Kudos to you," Dark Tsukuyomi said. "Okay, fight me."

"What?" Shane said, rather confused. Dark Tsukuyomi made a move and Shane reacted without thinking. "That's the spirit!" Dark Tsukuyomi shouted.

"Why are we doing this?" Shane asked. His eyes went wide as he barely avoided a crushing blow to his head.

"No time for talking! If you have time to talk, you have time to fight!" Dark Tsukuyomi said and pressed Shane harder. Shane grimaced and fought back. While they were fighting, Shane noticed that Dark Tsukuyomi appeared to be enjoying the fight. _Dark Tsukuyomi likes fighting this much? Reminds me of Captain Zaraki,_ Shane thought.

"Exactly!" Dark Tsukuyomi said and they stopped fighting. Shane was breathing heavily and had small cuts on his body. "Back then, when you realized what I was, you had everything right except for one thing," Dark Tsukuyomi said.

"What's that?" Shane asked.

"Instinct," Dark Tsukuyomi said with an evil grin. "The desire to win, to do whatever it takes. The need to survive, killer instinct, drive to succeed, call it what you want."

Shane said nothing and carefully considered Dark Tsukuyomi's words. _Killer instinct? The need to survive? What does that all mean?_

"Humans are a funny species," Dark Tsukuyomi said. "For all their technology, advanced civilizations, and higher brain functions, they really are no different than they way they used to be."

"What do you mean?" Shane asked, intrigued by Dark Tsukuyomi's comments.

"What I mean is, they still possess that desire to be on top, number one. They try to suppress it, but the survival instinct is still there." Dark Tsukuyomi said.

Shane thought for a minute and said, "It's hard to explain, but I think I understand. Your also represent my desire to never give up, even if it means dying."

"Close, but I'll accept that answer," Dark Tsukuyomi scoffed. "Now, what about Akuma and Izanami?"

"What about them?" Shane asked.

"Are they really that much stronger than you?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked. Shane thought for a moment and nodded his head.

"Idiot!" Dark Tsukuyomi shouted. "They are not stronger than you, they simply show no hesitation in battle. They simply don't care what happens, as long as they are the one standing in the end." Dark Tsukuyomi looked at the sky and smiled. "I would love to fight them some day. I'm getting excited just from thinking about it!"

"You'll probably get your chance soon," Shane said quietly, then frowned. "Since you represent my determination to survive, what about Light Tsukuyomi?" he asked.

"I am your desire also, the desire for justice," Light Tsukuyomi replied.

"Psh, 'bout time you showed up," Dark Tsukuyomi muttered. Shane turned and saw Light Tsukuyomi approach and stand next to Dark Tsukuyomi. They all stared at each other, not saying anything. A light breeze picked up, rustling Shane's robes. Light Tsukuyomi held up an object and Shane saw it was a mirror. He noticed Dark Tsukuyomi held a mirror also.

"Do you know what this is?" Light Tsukuyomi asked. Shane raised an eyebrow and made a dumb look. "It's a mirror," he said.

"What do you see in the mirror?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked. Shane looked closely. "My refection," he replied.

"When you see the moon at night, is it bright because it gives off its own light?" Light Tsukuyomi asked. Shane thought for a moment and said, "No. The moon simply reflects the light of the sun."

"Attack us with kido," Light Tsukuyomi said. Shane blinked in surprise. "You heard us, now do it!" Dark Tsukuyomi commanded. Shane stepped back and raised his hand. "Way of Destruction No. 4, White Lightning!" Shane called out. A bolt of lightning shot out at both Tsukuyomis, but suddenly, the attack was directed back at Shane, who barely managed to get out of the way.

"What happened?" Shane asked.

"Just like the mirror that reflects your image," Light Tsukuyomi replied. It took a second, but Shane understood what was being said. "I take it I don't need a mirror for that technique," he said.

"Very clever," Dark Tsukuyomi said and Shane rolled his eyes. "Now it's our turn," Dark Tsukuyomi said and held up a hand.

"Uh oh," Shane thought and began dodging kido attacks from Light and Dark Tsukuyomi. He found it hard to think while being shot at, so he flash stepped a short distance away to think.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Dark Tsukuyomi called out. "In battle, you don't have time to think about long strategies!" Shane resisted shouting back and concentrated on thinking.

"That technique not only reflects the attack, but it also acts as a shield," Shane thought. "But how to do it without a mirror?" Shane drew his Soul Slayer and carefully looked at the blades. "I don't think this is what they mean." He thought back to when he made the attack and the reaction from both Tsukuyomis. "They both held a mirror, but they didn't use the mirror as a part of the technique. What else?"

"Ha! Found you!" Dark Tsukuyomi cried and Shane rolled away, a smoking crater appeared where he had just been. The moment he came to his feet, Shane jumped away from an attack by Light Tsukuyomi. This continued for a long time, Shane desperately dodging more and more powerful attacks. Shane finally found cover behind a boulder and stopped to catch his breath.

"I'm probably making this harder than it really should be," Shane said and stole a peak around the boulder, not seeing either Tsukuyomi. Suddenly, Captain Ukitake's voice came to Shane's mind.

"Spirit Power isn't just a gauge of a Shinigami's power. Rather, it enhances ones abilities and enables you to perform amazing feats. Some Soul Slayers even use the Shinigami's spirit power to create and perform powerful attacks and techinques."

A smile spread across Shane's face. "Thanks, Captain," he said and left the boulder. He had only taken a few steps when Light and Dark Tsukuyomi appeared.

"Have you decided to meet your fate with honor?" Dark Tsukuyomi chided.

"Let's just see what happens, shall we?" Shane replied. He tensed his body and waited for the inevitable attack. Seconds seemed to stretch for hours, when Light Tsukuyomi raised a hand and shot White Lighting at Shane. Unlike before, Shane didn't move away, instead, he waited and watched as the attack came closer and closer. At the last instant, Shane put his hands up and put all of his Spirit Power into repelling the lighting. At first, the lighting stalled, but slowly began to overwhelm Shane. He pushed harder against the attack, sweat forming on his brow. The lightning finally overcame the barrier and Shane was thrown back, but a portion of the lightning was reflected into the night sky.

Shane lay on the ground panting and bruised. His uniform was smoking and he had light burn marks on his face and hands. Both Tsukuyomis appeared in his vision and leaned over.

"That actually wasn't too bad for a first attempt and not knowing that technique's name," Dark Tsukuyomi said. Shane wearily rose to his feet and brushed himself off.

"Now that you know the basis of the technique, all you need to do now is practice to master the technique," Light Tsukuyomi said.

"Are you going to tell me the name?" Shane asked. Dark Tsukuyomi laughed and Light Tsukuyomi said nothing. "Now what?" Shane asked.

"Practice makes perfect," Light Tsukuyomi replied.

"Oh goody," Shane said sourly.


	32. Calm Before The Storm

Shane woke up the next morning with a groan. His whole body was sore and he didn't want to get out of bed. But he had to get up. Today was a very important day, not just for him, but all of Soul Society. Shane winced as he sat up and he wearily rose to his feet and looked out the window. The sun was rising and promised to be a beautiful day. A small smile crossed Shane's face as he thought of the irony of it all.

"Today, Rukia will die," he said sadly.

There was a knock at the door and Shane went to see who it was. He opened the door and saw it was 3rd Seat Kiyone Kotetsu. When she saw he was wearing nothing but his night clothes, her faced turned bright red.

"What are you doing answering the door in your night clothes!" she screamed and clobbered Shane on the head. She was more angry than embarrassed now. "Hurry and get dressed, the captain wants to see you." With that, she slammed the door and stormed off, muttering to herself. Shane rubbed his head, clearly confused. He shrugged it off and got dressed and went to see the captain. As he left his room, he noticed a small box on the floor. He picked it up and looked inside. Shane smiled as he took the contents out of the box and put the box on his desk. He then left to go see the captain.

Shane knocked on the door and waited. When he didn't hear anything, he frowned. "Excuse me sir," he said and slowly opened the door. The room was empty. He frowned and scratched his head. "I thought the captain was here,"

"Oh? Who's there?" Captain Ukitake poked his head out from another room. When he saw Shane, his became serious. "Come in and shut the door." Shane did as he was told.

"You know what's happening today?" Ukitake asked. Shane nodded his head. "Normally when criminals are executed, it is witnessed by each of the 13 Guard Captains and their lieutenants. But I want you to represent 13th Squad in my stead."

Shane was dumbfounded. "But why?" he asked.

"The why is not important. If anyone asks you, just tell them I'm not feeling well and my 3rd seats are busy with other things," Ukitake instructed. When Shane didn't say anything, Ukitake sighed. "Please, just do as I ask. You'll find out soon enough, now get going. The execution will start soon."

"Aye, Captain," Shane said and left.

Shane stopped back at his room and washed his face and put on a clean uniform. After standing in the mirror and deciding he looked presentable, he left for the execution grounds. On the way there, Shane allowed himself to loose himself in his thoughts. His conflicting emotions were bubbling up from deep within and he finally had to stop in his tracks.

"What do I do?" he cried out. "Why is this so hard for me? Is it really this difficult, or am I simply making it so?" His hands balled in frustration and he punched a wall.

"Well, aren't you pathetic today," Dark Tsukuyomi whispered in Shane's thoughts.

"Shut up! I don't need this right now!" Shane muttered and started walking again.

"What do you need?" Light Tsukuyomi asked.

"How about a clear answer and a definite path to walk, or is that too much to ask?" Shane replied.

"Sorry, can't help you there," Dark Tsukuyomi said and Shane sighed. He was now at the base of the stairs leading up Soukyoku Hill to the execution grounds and started up.

After what seemed like forever, Shane finally made it to the top. He reached the edge of the hill to the execution platform. He didn't see anyone else so he figured he was early. Shane sat down on the edge and let his feet dangle over the edge, the wooden H-shaped cross towering over him. Shane took several deep breaths and looked out over Soul Society. A sense of calm surrounded him like a warm blanket. Suddenly, things seemed a lot simpler.

"I'm not sure why, but I feel better now," Shane said. He lay back and closed his eyes.

"Yo, wake up," Dark Tsukuyomi said. Shane opened his eyes and sat up. He saw he was back in that special place. A gentle breeze whispered through the grass. Light and Dark Tsukuyomi were standing over him.

"You know, something just occurred to me," Shane said. He stood up and looked at Light and Dark Tsukuyomi. "I know that shinigami have the ability to communicate with the spirits of their Soul Slayers, but I don't know of anyone who talks to their Soul Slayer as much as I do."

"Maybe you should get a life and some real friends," Dark Tsukuyomi suggested.

"Anyway," Shane continued, "What do you want?"

"What do _you_ want?" Light Tsukuyomi asked. After a moment's thought, Shane said, "I guess what I want most of all is to know my purpose in this life, to know what I'm supposed to do."

"Well, good luck with that. Anything else you want?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked.

"I want to become stronger than I am now and achieve my full potential," Shane added. Dark Tsukuyomi nodded his head in agreement. "And I want to know both of you and my self better," Shane said.

"Isn't that what we all want?" Light Tsukuyomi asked. "To know that we serve a purpose and are useful to others?"

Silence settled between the three of them. Shane looked to the eternal night sky and saw the moon was as big and bright as ever.

"When you are calm, at peace with yourself, the wind is but a whisper and the moon is bright," Light Tsukuyomi said.

"And if I'm not either of those things?" Shane asked.

"This place trembles with the power of your raging spirit and the moon turns black," Dark Tsukuyomi said with an evil grin.

"So what was this great and terrible thing that was supposed to happen?" Shane asked, suddenly remembering.

"Oh that? Well, you'll just have to wait and see," Dark Tsukuyomi said. Shane nodded his head and left his questions unsaid. Light Tsukuyomi looked to the sky and said, "It is almost time,"

Shane opened his eyes and sat up and saw he was back on Soukyoku Hill. Shane stood up and brushed himself off. The other captains were beginning to arrive, so he went to meet them.

Soifon saw him and stared daggers at him. "What are you doing here? Only captains and lieutenants are allowed to be here," she said.

"Captain Ukitake's illness prevented him from being here today. I am here in his stead," Shane said. Soifon stared him down for a few seconds, then turned back to her lieutenant. Commander General Yamamoto arrived shortly after with several members of the Kido Corps. They took station around the Soukyoku itself, a large curved blade atop a long wooden pole. The pole was supported by several thick ropes.

The captains stood in line according to their squad number. Shane stole a glance down the line and realized the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th and 11th Squad Captains were not present. Shane thought this very odd.

The guards escorting the condemned arrived next. Rukia seemed so small and insignificant in their midst. She kept her eyes to the ground as she was led forward to the cross. Shane struggled to keep the emotions off his face.

Rukia stood facing the group of captains, her face expressionless. Shane heard footsteps and Rukia perked up. Byakuya Kuchiki had arrived. He took his proper place in the line of captains, not even acknowledging Rukia. _Ooh, that's cold,_ Shane thought.

Commander General Yamamoto asked Rukia if she had any last wishes. Rukia asked that the ryoka be allowed to return to the Real World after the execution. Shane was a little surprised at her request.

Rukia was unbound and three small cubes formed from the cross platform, pulling Rukia's arms straight out and raised her into the air, just below the crossbar. She seemed at peace with herself and willing to accept her fate. Commander General Yamamoto signaled the Kido Corps. to begin. They made several hand signs, unbinding the ropes. The base of the pole suddenly burst into flames, disintegrating the pole as the flames raced up to the large blade. The Soukyoku was released into the form of a giant bird made of fire. It flapped its great wings and seemed to stare at Rukia.

 _Ichigo, you'd better hurry up with your plan,_ Shane thought. The Soukyoku lunged forward to incinerate Rukia. Shane bowed his head. He couldn't watch.

 _CRASH!_

A faint smile appeared on Shane's face.


	33. The Devil And The Darkness pt 1

The other captains watched with a mix of awe and horror. "How could he stop the Soukyoku, the blade with the power of 1,000 Soul Slayers, with a singe Soul Slayer?" Soifon asked out loud. Shane stole a glance upward. Ichigo was floating in the air, facing Rukia. He seemed to be talking to her, oblivious to the fact there was a giant firebird waiting to turn them to ashes. The Soukyoku pulled back to attempt another strike and Ichigo turned to face it head on. Shane watched with idle curiosity.

Before Ichigo could fight with the Soukyoku, a large ribbon appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around the great bird's neck. The end of the ribbon was attached to a wooden pole that stuck in the ground at the feet of the captain of the 8th Squad. Shane was slightly surprised to see his own captain appear, wielding a large purple shield that bore the crest of the Shihouin Family. The two captains inserted their Soul Slayers into the two vertical slots on the shield. Their Soul Slayers and the ribbon glowed blue and the Soukyoku was shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

"I bet that will make a lot of people mad," Shane muttered under his breath. Shane looked back to the cross and saw Ichigo standing on the cross beam spinning his Soul Slayer around. He then grabbed his sword and stabbed it deep into the crossbar. There was a massive explosion and Shane put his hand up to shield his face from the flying debris. When the smoke cleared, the crossbar had a section missing from it and Ichigo was holding Rukia.

"Well, you made good on your promise, so now what?" Shane wondered. A part of him was relieved that Rukia wasn't going to be executed...for now. But another part of him was wary of what might happen next.

The execution grounds was dropped into chaos as many things happened all at once. When the flurry of activity died down, Shane was alone next to what remained of the Soukyoku. A short distance away, Ichigo was fighting with Captain Kuchiki and the 4th Squad Captain had gathered all the hurt and unconscious people back to the relief station. A gentle wind tugged at Shane's clothes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What are you waiting for Akuma?" he asked.

"Oh, just wonderin' when you were ready," Akuma relied, playing with her hair and very bored.

"I'm ready," Shane replied and he turned to face her. A sly grin appeared on Akuma's face. "So you want to do it here?" she asked. Shane shook his head and replied, "I have a better place in mind." He flash stepped away with Akuma following right behind.

Shane stopped in an abandoned area in the outer reaches of Rukongai. It was very dirty and many of the buildings had fallen into severe disrepair and some were no more than piles of rubble. Akuma arrived seconds later and surveyed her surroundings. "You sure know how to pick em'," she said.

"So tell me about Captain Aizen's great plan," Shane said. Akuma gave him an innocent look. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"Those ryoka didn't kill him and no one else would dare such a thing. He must have faked his death so he could move about behind the scenes, manipulating strings in his favor," Shane said.

"So you don't think Captain Ichimaru killed him?" Akuma asked and Shane shook his head. "Ichimaru is Aizen's former Lieutenant. Ichimaru is too loyal to Aizen to actually kill him, so he must be in on it as well."

Akuma tapped her finger on her chin and began to pace. "But what about Central Office 46?" she asked.

"I don't have all the information, but I'm sure that whatever Aizen is planning, Central 46 isn't any concern to him," Shane said. Now he and Akuma began circling each other. "What I'm not sure of is your part in all this," he said. With this, Akuma began to smile. "Captain Aizen is very cunning and very powerful. I respect that in a man," she said. "I can't really describe what it is like to be in his presence. He simply gives off this aura that commands respect from those around him." Akuma's eyes glossed over and she began acting very strange. "His power is...intoxicating. Once you've seen it, experienced it, you can't get enough." She giggled.

"You're a loony," Shane replied. Akuma shrugged. "Perhaps, but I don't care." She stopped and stared intently at Shane. "You know, you and I are very similar. So much in fact, it's scary."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Shane said, becoming wary.

"Surely you've noticed it," Akuma said. "Fighting hollows who say you aren't like other shinigami. Or the fact you have no memory of where you came from."

"You've experienced this also?" Shane asked. He stopped and tried to think, but Akuma kept going. "Didn't you ever wonder why you were so different than other Death Gods? Or that your Soul Slayer was so much different?" She stopped and turned to face him. "I'll let you in on a secret. We aren't really Death Gods," she whispered.

Shane's eyes went wide. "What are you taking about?" he asked. Akuma stepped back and reached for her Soul Slayer. "I'm tired of talking. Let's fight!"

"Very well," Shane replied. He reached into his robe and pulled out a pair of gloves and put them on. The back of the hand and outer forearm was armor plated and engraved with the Shihouin family crest. The gloves reached to his elbows and the fingers were cut off and there were four small spikes across the top of the palm.

"What's that?" Akuma asked.

"An item that should come in handy," Shane replied. He adjusted the gloves and got in a stance. Akuma took note of this and tsked. "If that's the way you want it," she said. Akuma quick drew her Soul Slayer and Shane put his arm up to block, sending sparks flying.

"You really intend to fight me without your Soul Slayer?" Akuma asked in amazement. She made an over hand strike and Shane blocked with the palm of his hand. Akuma then lunged at Shane, attempting to stab him. Shane grabbed the blade and used Akuma's forward momentum to throw her. Akuma somersaulted in the air and landed a few feet away. "Pssh, this doesn't even qualify as a warmup," she said.

"Then come," Shane said and made a waving motion with his hand. That was all the invitation Akuma needed. She came in swinging her long sword with ease, her moves unpredictable. If Shane weren't busy defending himself, he would have admired Akuma's swordsmanship. Akuma brought her Soul Slayer down in an overhead strike and Shane put his arms up to block. The force of the blow nearly sent Shane to his knees. Akuma's face was inches from his own.

"Now things are getting interesting, eh?" Akuma grinned. Shane could see the bloodlust in her eyes. Akuma put her other hand on the dull edge of her Soul Slayer and pushed down. The increased leverage forced Shane to his knees and with a final push, Akuma broke through Shane's defense and made a deep cut across his body. Shane staggered back, his uniform cut and his wound beginning to bleed.

"Hey, at least make this a little more enjoyable, okay?" Akuma said, looking bored.

Shane's face twisted in fury and he gritted his teeth against the pain. He stood up the best he was able and gripped the handles of his Soul Slayer tightly. Akuma didn't bother to raise her sword in defense. Suddenly, Shane appeared behind Akuma. He was facing away and holding the sword in his right hand in a reverse grip, parallel to his arm.

"What-" Akuma began to ask when blood began to flow from a deep cut on her right side below her ribs. Akuma put her hand to her wound and looked at her bloodstained hand. "Very nice," she said smiling. "I was wondering what it would take for you to get serious,"

Shane turned around and drew his other sword and he took his stance. He pointed the sword in his left hand at Akuma and said, "I haven't started to get serious yet." Akuma got a wild look in her eye and her face twisted in an evil grin. She came at him with her sword held high and launched a massive overhead swing. Shane stepped in and blocked. The energy from their swordplay and rising spirit power produced what amounted to a small explosion.


	34. The Devil And The Darkness pt2

Far away, Olivia suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She rushed to her window and looked out. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but she had the feeling that something was very wrong. Then she felt the presence of two familiar sprit energies.

"I hope I make it in time," Olivia said. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her Soul Slayer and supply bag and rushed out the door.

Shane and Akuma's battle had long past any form of sportsmanship and approached insanity and brutal savagery. Anything that was caught up in their ferocious duel was turned to dust. Akuma came in with a quick three hit combo, then kicked Shane as hard as she could. Shane went flying through three abandoned houses, the last collapsing around him. Akuma was breathing heavy and wiped the blood from her mouth. "I hope you aren't done yet," she called out.

The rubble began to shift slightly, then was blown away in a release of spirit power. Shane then reappeared in front of Akuma and laid into her with heavy blows. A powerful rising knee strike to the face launched Akuma into the air. Shane jumped after her and grabbed her by the belt. He swung her around and around to build up momentum, then threw her into the ground as hard as he could. The impact threw up a large cloud of dirt. When the dust settled, Akuma stood on shaky legs, supported by her Soul Slayer. She began to laugh.

"This battle is shaping up to everything I thought it would be!" she cried out. "I've been looking forward to the day you and I would fight like this."

"This isn't right," Shane said from above. His robes were shredded and he was bleeding everywhere. Every deep breath caused him sharp pain from several broken ribs.

Akuma sneered at him. "Since when has war ever been right?" She pulled her sword out of the ground and pointed it at Shane. "With as much crap that comes out of your mouth, the humans could blame you for their Global Warming problem."

"And you're a psychotic killer who should be locked away," Shane shot back. Akuma shrugged. "Well, to each his own I guess." Suddenly, Akuma appeared in the air above Shane. His eyes went wide with surprise. "How-"

Akuma lashed out and Shane fell to the ground, making his own crater. Before he could get up, white-hot pain tore through his shoulder, causing him to cry out. He looked up and saw Akuma standing over him, pining him to the ground with her Soul Slayer.

"Aw, does it hurt?" she asked and twisted the sword, sending new waves of pain through Shane's body. He reached up and tried to dislodge the sword in his shoulder. Akuma pulled her Soul Slayer out and Shane gasped. Blood began flowing from the new wound and pooled with the blood from other injuries.

Akuma licked a bit of the blood off her sword and smiled. "Izanami has been begging me to kill you and absorb your spirit power," she said.

"What do you mean?" Shane asked.

"Izanami can be pretty sick and twisted sometimes," Akuma explained. "Right before I kill my enemies, Izanami absorbs their spirit energy."

"So that's how you've become so strong," Shane gasped.

Akuma stepped back. "Now I want to show you something I've been working on," she said. Akuma held her Soul Slayer close and whispred, "Reap their souls, Izanami!" Shane then realized that she had been fighting this whole time without her Soul Slayer released. Akuma's Soul Slayer changed shape and became wooden stick about two feet long with a long, curved blade.

"You remember this don't you?" Akuma asked. Shane nodded meekly. "But this isn't what I wanted you to see," Akuma said. "Captain Aizen has been working with me and you'll be the first to witness." Akuma held Izanami out to the side and uttered two syllables: "Bankai!"

"Oh crap," Shane whispered. His words were lost in the explosion that resulted in the massive release of Akuma's Spirit Power. Shane struggled to his feet and was awed at the amazing display. He suddenly gasped as the enormous weight of Spirit Power engulfed him. _This spirit energy is full of malice and darkness,_ Shane thought. He staggered back a step and the dust cleared.

Before him stood a robed figure, its face hidden in the depths of the hood. The cloak reached to the ground, obscuring the wearer's feet. The edges of the cloak were made of shadow seemed to pulse and move about as if they had a mind of their own. A thin, bony hand held a large scythe. The staff was covered with scales and had a sharp talon at the end. The top resembled a bird's head and the long, wicked looking blade was the beak. The blade seemed to glow with its own evil. The figure reeked of death.

"So, you like my new figure?" a raspy voice asked. "This is the true form of my Soul Slayer, Izanami-no-mikoto."

Shane bowed his head and knew he'd been beaten. He looked at his Soul Slayer. It was beaten and scarred from the fight, but the blades were still sharp. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Rise, Tsukuyomi," he said.

Akuma chuckled. "You think you can beat me like that?" Shane shook his head and held his Soul Slayer in front of him. "I want Tsukuyomi to see what we're up against. I want Tsukuyomi to get a good hard look, so the next time we fight," Shane brought his Soul Slayer in close for a stance. "We can beat you."

Akuma laughed and charged. In the back of his mind, Shane had to admit, Akuma's Bankai was very impressive. Akuma's attack power rivaled that of Kenpachi Zaraki and with each blow, blocked or not, Shane could feel his energy being eaten by Izanami. Shane jumped back and pondered his next move.

"Now for something new!" Akuma cried out. She held her left hand by her side and gathered a ball of energy and threw it at Shane. He quickly sidestepped. and avoided being hit. But it was just a ruse. While Shane was distracted by the ball of energy, Akuma rapidly closed the distance and lashed out. Shane felt himself being tossed in the air. Before he could fall back to the ground, Akuma reached out with her Soul Slayer and slammed him into the ground. Shane coughed up blood. Akuma kicked him in the ribs and he cried out.

"Hmm? Are you done? I guess I broke you." Akuma said. She stood over Shane's bleeding and broken body. She flipped him over with her foot so he was laying face up. She bent down and looked into his glazed eyes. "Become stronger and come after me," she said. She grabbed a fist full of his hair and brought their faces close together. "I'll leave you a parting gift," she said. Akuma stood up and stabbed Shane with the sharp talon end of Izanami. HIs eyes bugged out and the blood that came from his mouth was pink and frothy.

"This talon is poisonous," Akuma said. "But don't worry, you won't die. What you will do is become a raving monster. Every day that passes, you will loose more of your humanity and you will become a monster that thrives on instinct and power." Shane couldn't comprehend what she was saying. Akuma sighed. "I'm probably wasting my time explaining this to you, but I don't care. I want you to come after me. I want you to seek me out. And when you do, we'll fight again."

Akuma looked to the sky and stepped back. Shane struggled to his feet, bleeding profusely from the gaping hole in his chest. Akuma looked to Shane and said, "Good bye." Shane could only watch as the sky was ripped open and many Gillian-clas Menos Grande appeared. A shaft of yellow light appeared around Akuma and the small chunk of land she was standing on began to raise into the air.

"Wh-where are you going?" Shane managed to ask.

"With Captain Aizen to the land of the Hollows," Akuma replied, her voice getting smaller and smaller.

"Why?" was all Shane could think to ask.

"He has his reasons, but I'm going to fight Hollows," Akuma replied. "There are hollows in Hueco Mundo with power you've never seen before. I'm going to fight them, just to see how strong they really are." With that, Akuma disappeared into the dark void in the sky, along with several others. Then the void sealed up, as if nothing happened.

Shane stood there, staring at the sky. His grip loosened and his Soul Slayer clattered to the ground. Darkness appeared at the edges of his vision and his eyes blurred. Then Shane fell flat on his face, unconscious before he hit the ground.


	35. Picking Up The Pieces

When he woke up, Shane found himself staring at the sky. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was different hues of blue and purple. His head was pounding and he groaned softly. Shane then realized he was covered with a blanket. He picked up the blanket and saw he was covered in bandages. He sat up and was rewarded with sharp pains from all over.

"Hey, be careful," Olivia warned. Shane smiled when he saw her. Her sleeves were pulled back and long rubber gloves covered her arms. Her hair was a tangled mess and blood was spattered on her robe. She looked tired.

"I guess I should thank you," Shane said, looking at his bandaged hands.

"Yeah, that's the least you could do," Olivia said. "When I found you, I thought for sure you were dead." She shook her head. Shane stared into his lap, his mind lost in thought. "Before Akuma left, she said some disturbing things," he said.

"You mean this?" Olivia asked. Shane glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw she was holding a vial of pale green liquid. "I managed to get most of the poison out, but I was unable to retrieve a small amount."

"Don't worry, I won't die from this type of poison," Shane said. He looked to the sky and asked, "Do you know what's been going on?" Olivia shook her head. "I came straight here when I felt you and Akuma fighting. I imagine we'll find out the details later."

Shane lay back and closed his eyes. Soon, he was asleep again. Oliva watched him sleep. "Next time, we'll fight together," she promised.

When Shane woke up again, he found himself staring up at the ceiling of the Relief Station. "I might as well live here since I've been here so often," he smirked at the thought. He got up and winced. "I guess I'm still broken," he said. Shane got dressed and carefully wandered out the door.

As he walked around the inner yard, Shane thought about the last few weeks. Within that span, the complacency of Soul Society had been shattered and replaced with chaos. Shane marveled a the ability of nature to return to normal. Since the chaos had ended, things quickly began returning to the way they used to be. Shane's quiet reflection was shattered as he saw Rukia leaving one of the rooms. He smiled when he saw her, but did not call out. As she approached, he stopped and let her come to him. "I see you are doing well," Shane finally said.

Rukia was startled and smiled when she saw him. "I'm glad to see you," she said.

Shane sat down and invited Rukia to sit next to him, which she did. At first, neither said anything, they simply sat and enjoyed the quiet. "So, what happened?" Shane asked. Rukia thought for a moment and told Shane everything.

"That's quite the story," Shane remarked when she was finished. "I must say, Ichigo does have a flair for the dramatic sometimes."

"At the time, I was mad at him for doing something so foolish. But then I was happy he came." Rukia said.

"You really had that thing inside you?" Shane asked. "How did it get there?" Rukia shrugged. "That is a question for Urahara. That's not the only thing I want to do next time I see him," she said and smacked the palm of her hand with her fist.

"I don't blame you," Shane agreed. Their moment alone was interrupted by footsteps. Shane turned to see who it was.

"Hey guys," Ichigo said. Shane smiled and said, "I finally found you,"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, sitting next to Rukia.

"You certainly know how to cause trouble Ichigo," Shane said.

"It was something I had to do," Ichigo explained. Shane waved him off. "I don't care about your reasons. In fact, I never cared at all." They sat in silence. "So when are you going back?" Shane asked.

"Probably tomorrow. Summer break ends soon and we need to get back." Ichigo said. Shane stood up. "Well, I'll leave you two here. I feel like doing some walking and I'm sure you have things to tell each other."

That night, Shane was up on Soukyoku Hill admiring the view. High above, the Soukyoku Cross still showed sighs of the epic struggle that had erupted. Shane figured it would stay like that for a long time. The light breeze pulled at his robes and the sky was crystal clear. Shane felt two presences approach and he didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"The night is still," Light Tsukuyomi said.

"Thanks Captain Obvious," Dark Tsukuyomi said. Shane listened to them bicker for a while. "That was some fight, eh?" he asked.

"Why did you hold back?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked. Shane shrugged. "Didn't you listen to anything I've told you?" Shane said nothing. Dark Tsukuyomi scowled.

"Oh, by the way, what was this 'something special' that was supposed to happen?" Shane asked.

"It didn't happen," Light Tsukuyomi said.

"Of course it didn't happen," Shane said. "I want to know what it was and why it didn't happen."

"You weren't ready," Light Tsukuyomi answered.

"Ready for what?" Shane asked.

"What is this, 20 Questions?" Dark Tsukuyomi asked. "You had all the pieces, you simply couldn't or didn't put them together for the picture."

"Could you at least tell me what it was supposed to be?" Shane asked. An enraged Dark Tsukuyomi hit Shane in the back of the head. "What is wrong with you?" Dark Tsukuyomi screamed. "Do you need to be told how to do every little thing? How have you survived this long on your own?"

Light Tsukuyomi watched the exchange in silence. When Dark Tsukuyomi was done ranting and raving, Light Tsukuyomi spoke. "There are some things that can only be discovered on your own."

Shane rubbed his head and considered their words. As he opened his mouth to speak, he realized they were gone. He shook his head and enjoyed the first quiet evening in several days.

The next day, Ichigo, Orihime, Uryuu and Chad went back to the Real World. When Shane arrived, everyone was saying their goodbyes. Before Ichigo walked through the gate, Shane said, "Say hello to Tatsuki for me," Ichigo grinned and walked through the gate. Captain Ukitake turned to Shane and said, "I have something to discuss with you. Meet me at the office." Shane was perplexed, but he agreed.

When Shane arrived, Captain Ukitake was waiting. "Please, come in and shut the door," he said and Shane did so.

"You have been doing very well," Captain Ukitake started out. "You've done everything I've asked of you to the best of your abilities. You are aware that I am the only Captain currently without a Lieutenant, yes?"

"Uh, yes?" Shane agreed, wondering where this was going.

"I have been thinking recently that I should fill that position," Captain Ukitake said, turning his back to Shane.

"I'm sure there will be much fighting between your 3rd seats over which one is promoted," Shane said.

"I'm not going to promote either of them," Ukitake said. Now Shane was really confused and interested.

"A Lieutenant is someone who has the complete trust of the Captain, one who doesn't follow orders blindly and asks questions. A Lieutenant is someone who can look out for others as well as himself. He is a role model for the young ones to look up to." Captain Ukitake turned to face Shane. "I would like to promote you to Lieutenant of Squad 13."

The news hit Shane like a ton of bricks. "Wha-what?" Shane asked. "Why do you want me? Surely there is someone better qualified."

"Who else is there?" Ukitake asked.

"I don't know, someone other than me," Shane said. "I haven't been here very long and I don't know anyone else besides Rukia."

"Who's fault is that?" Ukitake asked and Shane realized he had a point. "I understand that you don't exactly fit in here with Squad 13," Ukitake said. "Where else to put you but as my Lieutenant?"

"But I don't know anything about being a Lieutenant," Shane protested. "I don't know how to boss people around. I'm not the type of person that inspires confidence in people anyway."

"And that is why I want you as my Lieutenant," Ukitake said. "You have no political ambition and you recognize that you aren't perfect. You don't let your ego get in the way of rational thinking and you are very level headed." Shane said nothing and sulked. "Plus, a requirement for becoming a Lieutenant is knowing your Soul Slayer's name and Shikai." At that, Shane became very quiet.

"I know this is sudden, but I believe you are the best choice," Ukitake said.

After a moment's thought, Shane said, "Is the process really that simple or would I have to jump through more hoops."

Ukitake stroked his chin and looked thoughtful. "You know, I don't remember. It's been a while since I've had a Lieutenant or promoted one." Shane rolled his eyes and said, "Sir, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but," and he stopped. What was he afraid of? "Sir, I don't want the job. I can't willingly send people out to what may be certain death. I'm terrible at paperwork and I hate politics."

"What you're saying is, you don't want to be my Lieutenant because that would mean sacrificing your freedom, to do what you want when you want," Ukitake said. Shane said nothing and felt guilty. "Well, when you put it that way," he mumbled.

"I will give you some time to think it over. I would like to have an answer from you, but I will still make my decision regardless." Ukitake said.

Shane bowed and said, "Thank you sir," and took his leave.

 _Yes, these have been strange times, but things will continue, perhaps not as they always have, but they will continue. People are often hesitant to change, myself included. But who are we? Our time is short compared to the rest of time. I have heard that time is like an ocean in a storm, always moving, always changing. In these changing times, we too must change. Therefore, I have decided that I too will change, for better or worst._

There was a knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts. "Enter," Shane called out.

"Sir, everyone is waiting for you," the messenger said. Shane dismissed the messenger and left the room. He walked out into the center of Squad 13's meeting room. Before him stood a group of new shinigami.

"Welcome to Squad 13," Shane welcomed them. "I am the 13th Squad Lieutenant, Shane Akiyama."


End file.
